Meh

Today the government announced the four candidates for John Key's vanity flag referendum: three ferns (one of them the logo of Immigration NZ and the Companies Office) and a koru. And really, all I can say is "meh". The interesting designs - Matthew Clare's "Seven Stars of Matariki" and Tomas Cottle's "Modern Hundertwasser" - didn't make the cut (the latter being removed for copyright reasons). So basicly we've got three variations on a rugby meathead symbol and a koru which has already been dubbed the "hypnoflag" (all glory to the hypnoflag). Which at least gives us a standing political joke any time a politician tries to appeal to it.

Its a preferential vote, and with two variations on the same thing (and one very close option), its pretty clear which one John Key and his "independent" panel wants to win. But while strapping the chicken might get him his way in the first vote, I'm not sure that it will in the second.