The race is very much on to be National’s top dog. And while candidates are throwing their hats into the ring, we’re all doing what we do best: spectating and throwing in our ten cents worth.

So here’s mine. I’d pick Amy Adams. I like the strong silent type. The hard worker, shunning spotlight opportunities for the spotlight’s sake, considering her thoughts before spewing them out, and actually doing the hard grind.

If you want to put style to one side and go with substance, she’s your woman. She has the credentials. She’s a straight bat. Image-wise she’s a slow burner, a nerd. But nerds are good. She’ll get there. She seems the most decent, and the least there for self interest purposes.

I saw her give a speech once at a casual event in Christchurch and she was excellent. I didn’t know much about her, her low profile could be a problem, but within minutes of hearing her, I was extremely impressed. Impressed by her depth of knowledge, her warmth, and her connection to her constituents. Critically, she talked mostly about them, not herself.

Which leads me to Simon Bridges. I can’t take him seriously. I know everyone is, but I can’t. How do you take seriously a man whose speech to pitch himself as the future leader of the National Party sounded like a stage performance from Lyn of Tawa.

“Oim” the right person.

“Oim” excited.

“Oim” a ‘natch-rill’ fit for ‘Nash-nil loidership’.

That accent on the world stage would kill me.

The worst part of all of this though is the amount of times he referred to himself in the third person, unless you’re Kanye, this is a categorical no-no.

“Oim” focused on “Soimin” Bridges. Soimin, it’s a no from me.

Then there’s Crusher. Judith Collins is terrifying. I’m scared and I’m not even a politician. But she plays the game, she knows the game, she is an attack dog and the only thing about that is whether it’s of a time gone by. We’ve moved on from that Thatcher-esque style haven’t we?

Her experience in the theatre of politics can’t be ignored, but her aggressive style may alienate her from people, especially if this ‘generational shift’ is to be subscribed to. Milennials are into Kombucha and holding hands, not ripping people to shreds and ruling with an iron fist.

Having said all of that, I think outside of the political spotlight she’s not so bulldog. I saw her in the supermarket the other day and refreshingly, I didn’t feel like I needed to fear for my life. She seemed less scary matriarch, and more regular shopper. Which leads me to believe the political persona is just that, a persona.

So what do you go with? A solid slow burner with all of the smarts? An established hard political player whose come out swinging day one? Or ‘Soimin, Oim focussing on Soimin’, Bridges?

There are still others who may tip themselves into the ring. I’m picking we’ll hear from Steven Joyce (if he can find the numbers) which he just might, and Jonathan Coleman if he can find the numbers, (which he probably won’t). But there may also be some wildcards. Either way, as far as political theatre goes, it’s time to grab the popcorn.