The waiting may be over

It's looking like the waiting game is drawing to a close, and that we'll finally have a government tomorrow, or maybe today. The cost? A boost in superannuation - which while I don't mind it in principle, means money which can't be spent on other things (like, say, restoring the health system) and running higher surpluses in the long run (at least, if the government wants to be fiscally responsible). But such are the joys of negotiating the different spending priorities of different sectors of the electorate.

Of course, the whole thing could still go off the rails - the Maori Party certainly seems to be doing its bit to throw a last-minute spanner in the works, which again rather confirms people's suspicions about them as well as showing just how cynical National's race-baiting policies were.