No. 62 of 108
August 14, 2025
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, member of the center-right New Zealand National Party, said Netanyahu has “lost the plot”. New Zealand is considering joining ally Australia, Canada, U.K., France, and Malta in recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of or at the September session of the U.N. Assembly. Commenting on the increased bombardment of Gaza and interruption of aid with supplies piled up in warehouses, Luxon said the situation “is utterly, utterly unacceptable.” Germany’s center right Chancellor Merz is standing firm against far right voices opposing his decision to partially halt arms to Israel, confident that most of the German people support even further actions.
What does it mean to have “lost the plot”, and why does it matter? Consequential decisions and actions sit in a story, a narrative that makes sense of why a decision has been made, what actions are being taken, and how folx should think about it as it relates to their own sense of right and wrong, up and down, left-of-center-right-of-center. When a leader or ruler, when folx in charge lose the plot it means whatever it is they are weaving and spinning is unraveling, sometimes because they are moving farther afield than most folx are willing to do or be a part of, and sometimes because things that are being said and projected don’t match up (… and not by a little bit) with what is plainly seen, heard, felt. Often, both. Opponents have their own plot lines to be believed in, or not. But nothing shifts the tide more than the beliefs and thoughts and attention of ordinary folx as stories unravel. Eventually, those who are making (sometimes overly) complicated decisions detect the gravity point of common sense in the beliefs and thoughts and attention of ordinary folx. And the lost plot loses its magic, at long last.