November 16, 2014
Local Politics
Local Politics
WILLIE JACKSON
John Key’s comment about advising the Chilean president that there was a Kiwi in her country, who she wouldn’t want to invite for lunch, went horribly wrong although it was intended as a joke.
I don’t always agree with the Prime Minister or what his government does, but what he said about escaped New Zealand criminal Phillip Smith was hardly a major crime and he will have learnt a valuable lesson don't joke in public or at least in front of cameras. Could it have caused an international scandal maybe but his comment should have been taken with the grain of salt it was delivered in.
That aside, Key’s trip to APEC, where he lunched with the US president Barrack Obama, and then on to Asia has cemented him as the No 1 man in the National party. There’s always a chance that by your third term as Prime Minister, you may have lost your edge and the public could be tiring of you. We saw that with Helen Clark who failed to promote up and coming MPs to the front bench before she was axed by the voters. But that’s not what is happening to Key. In fact the more he features on the international stage, the more comfortable he looks.
Since resoundingly winning back the Nats third term, Key has moved quickly to implement his agenda. He’s promoted young blood – perhaps even showing his succession plans for Paula Bennett to take over as leader – and demoted and cut adrift those who he sees as problem MPs, like Judith Collins and Maurice Williamson. The fact those two in particular are still MPs says more about the electorate they stand in than themselves.
So while Key is making giant strides, the same can’t be said for Labour. Next Tuesday, we will find out just who will lead Labour into the 2017 election. The candidates – David Parker, Nanaia Mahuta, Grant Robertson and Andrew Little – have just completed a three-week series of meetings. They travelled from Invercargill to Whangarei as part of the campaign to elect a new Labour Party leader.
I reckon it’s probably going to be a two horse race between Robertson and Little, with Little likely to come through because of his strong union background which would be a shame for Robertson as he has been an outstanding MP however his time might not be now.
Whoever wins, I would advise that person to quickly align themselves to the Maori caucus and look to promote the likes of Kelvin Davis and Peeni Henare – two MPs who can play a major role for Labour in 2017.
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