John Key: From Manager To Managed

This week should have been one to remember for the National Party. With opinion polls released by The Herald and TV3 showing a growing divide between National and Labour, and National with enough support to govern alone, it should really have been their week. However, after extraordinary blunders by John Key, it is probably a week they’d sooner forget.

On Tuesday, the government’s move to block the sale of Auckland Airport to a Canadian pension fund left National in a rather tricky position. Balancing the particularly sensitive policy area of asset sales and core party beliefs of no government interference in private commercial relationships with the wider public interests of keeping New Zealand assets in New Zealand hands proved somewhat of a conundrum for Key. Indeed, that was written all over his face as he spoke to the media scrum following the government’s announcement. Unable to provide a definitive answer as to what National would have done, indicated that Key was ill prepared for a debate on asset sales.

Then on Wednesday came Key’s claim that National had no policy or deadline to settle historical Treaty claims. This was despite a clear (and core) 2005 election policy of settling all Treaty claims by 2010, and Key’s own announcement in 2007 that that deadline had been extended to 2014. Key was forced to release a press statement some time later, effectively admitting he did not understand his own party’s policy on Treaty settlements.

It is certainly extraordinary that in an election year the Leader of the Opposition can make two, seemingly amateur, blunders in the space of less than 24 hours. At a time when political stakes are high, one would expect Key to not only have a firm grasp on National Party policies, but be prepared to state National’s position on an issue, especially when it is one that National has had difficulty with in the past. But that is just it; Key isn’t prepared. Whilst Key the money trader excelled in his chosen field and was hailed and rewarded for his managerial skills, Key the politician, like his predecessor Brash, is a personality to be managed. And, in an attempt to mitigate his lack of political experience, Key has been over-managed to the point where he cannot think on his feet. It is no surprise that one of Key’s worst weeks coincided with his chief press officer taking leave. 

One only has to look at the way the National Party has tried to sell Key to the public to get a sense of how Key has been managed. The release of the John Key DVD is one such example. The music, the editing, the candid conversation, and the almost presidential style in which Key was presented all served to put a glossy sheen on what has been shown in the last few days to be an inept political Leader. His “State of the Nation” address earlier this year is another example. Whilst Clark chose to deliver her speech at a business breakfast, Key’s was given to a group of paying National Party supporters, definitely a more comfortable and receiving audience. The clapping supporters and the standing ovation as Key entered not only served to present a positive image of Key to those watching the news, but to give Key a more relaxed environment free from the pressure that his words might not be well received.

If opinion polls are to be believed, then Key’s manufactured image has gone down well with the public, but, as has been shown over this past week, there are of course inherent dangers in shielding an inexperienced politician from politics. Whilst Key is used to delivering National Party policy to National Party audiences, that will not always be possible as the election draws near. Key will be increasingly faced with issues like those seen this week, especially as National starts to release policy, and New Zealanders will finally get a true picture of what John Key the Prime Minister would actually be like.   

 

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