STRAIGHT AND TRUE
July 2026
Politics of mistrust
11/07/26
Here’s one for the sliver of the Venn diagram comprising readers of this column, English football fans and history buffs: the World Cup has the feel of ’66 about it. No, not 1966; 1066, when King Harry’s England scraped a win over Norway only to be thrashed by the French.
Sport is a branch of the entertainment business. Dastardly deeds push the plot along. The mixture of power-plays and corruption is a captivating subplot at the Fifa fiesta.
No one is surprised that Fifa is sleazy, so when it corruptly overturns a red card to pacify a sordid US presidency, many American fans shrug and think we may as well make the corrupt system work for us. They feel the same about the country. The economy is corrupt so I might as well get what I can out of it, like the wealthy and powerful do, instead of supporting principle and the greater good.
The reason for our consult-and-veto society is that checks help to restrain corrupt politicians. Giving us a stake in our community is meant to build trust.
That logic only works if the people who stop things happening are held to account when they are wrong, as much as those who promote development.
Josie's column in The Post is here.
Sport is a branch of the entertainment business. Dastardly deeds push the plot along. The mixture of power-plays and corruption is a captivating subplot at the Fifa fiesta.
No one is surprised that Fifa is sleazy, so when it corruptly overturns a red card to pacify a sordid US presidency, many American fans shrug and think we may as well make the corrupt system work for us. They feel the same about the country. The economy is corrupt so I might as well get what I can out of it, like the wealthy and powerful do, instead of supporting principle and the greater good.
The reason for our consult-and-veto society is that checks help to restrain corrupt politicians. Giving us a stake in our community is meant to build trust.
That logic only works if the people who stop things happening are held to account when they are wrong, as much as those who promote development.
Josie's column in The Post is here.
Josie on BYO with Lloyd Burr
09/07/26
The Huddle: Trade deals, voting and banning fertiliser
06/07/26
Josie joined Heather du Plessis-Allan and Trish Sherson on the Huddle to talk through National looking for new trade deals, Winston Peters says voting is a 'privilege' and only citizens should get to vote, and the Greens' plan to regulate water and phase out nitrogen fertiliser.
