As the first year of the sixth National Government draws to a close, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will be looking back at his governments accomplishments. Fast and furiously his ministerial lieutenants have introduced an extraordinary number of changes, which have left many commentators – myself included – at times blindsided. But what has the Prime Minister himself achieved?
To be honest, not a lot. At the end of his first year in office, he is the most unpopular Prime Minister for that point in his/her third term. Other than enabling a blizzard of legislative changes rushed through Parliament, often in contempt of public input, the Cabinet Manual on at least one occasion and smothered in corporate speak, he has done very little to lead. Whilst a large number of overseas trips to various international gatherings have been had, at least some of which were treated more like photo opportunities, judging by the reaction of other attendees. Those same trips seem to yield few, if any announcements of importance in terms of Government business.
The power in this Government does not sit on the throne. Rather it appears to be held by the Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, and the man who will be his successor in a few months, David Seymour. These two effectively run the Government of New Zealand.
But let us look at the kind of person Christopher Luxon is, the kind of Prime Minister we have. Mr Luxon is a former C.E. of Air New Zealand, and prior to that held senior positions in Unilever, first as director for their cosmetics section, including deodorant and then as President.
His time in the former was noted for changes to the international network, the arrival of the 787 Dreamliner. He left the airline with a mixed reputation – the Dreamliner was a welcome acquisition to the fleet, and a raft of changes were made to benefit staff including 26 weeks maternity leave and a support programme for staff affected by family violence. However his personal reputation as someone who looked down on cabin crew, despite them being the public face of the airline is well documented.
So what made him become so unlikeable, so off-putting that the Leader of the Opposition Chris Hipkins – despite not having done much himself this year – is almost level with him in the polls?
Perhaps – noting his reputation when he left – Mr Luxon is still learning the ropes. When he first became Chief Executive at Air New Zealand, he attended a meeting where he allegedly said “I’m going to open the gate to hell”, shortly after which 250 maintenance and 100 cabin crew were made redundant. In the push back that followed, Mr Luxon learnt that actions have consequences. While that might be true, Mr C.E.O. as some call him seems to have not yet understood that running a country is a whole different ball game to running a company.
5 years after he left Air New Zealand, Mr Luxon is seen as one of the weakest Prime Ministers the country has had. His failure to manage his cabinet has left a myriad of Ministers exposed before the court of public opinion. Whilst left-wing New Zealand rightly bemoans the lack of accountability, citing the poor performance of multiple Ministers – Karen Chhour (Childrens Affairs), Casey Costello, Nicola Willis (Finance), Penny Simmonds (Environment) – to name a few, even right-wing New Zealand is frustrated. Barry Soper, a known commentator on the conservative NewstalkZB radio recently railed against the failure to have a plan in place for the Cook Strait ferries, which are getting near the end of their lives. Other journalists, normally supporting National have bemoaned how difficult it is to squeeze answers out of Mr Luxon.
And then there is the infighting. Mr Seymour and Mr Peters are well known for not getting on. Mr Peters, leader of a party that has historically opposed privatization will not be wanting to see the ferries or Kiwi Rail privatized, but Mr Seymour whose A.C.T. party is bit on small government free enterprise values. Mr Seymour might be about to find out that Mr Peters has a track record of walking away from coalition Governments when they privatize state assets.
One of the biggest dangers for Mr Luxon is the inflammatory Treaty Principles Bill. Mr Seymour is driving the Treaty Principles Bill, which is proving to be a flash point for tensions, with a near 100,000 strong hikoi descending on Parliament to protest it. Despite Mr Luxon saying that the Bill is flawed and not necessary, he seems reluctant to put A.C.T. on the spot and tell them to withdraw it. He was not in Parliament on the day it was introduced, and his language has been far from conclusive on the matter.
Mr Luxon is also yet to recognize Winston Peters is a true veteran of N.Z. politics. A wily figure who has been around for nearly 40 years, with a degree of cunning few in N.Z. political circles have managed. A Member of Parliament and Minister with temperament, and a loyal following among the senior population of the country. If he – and David Seymour are not careful – they might be just the latest in a long list of politicians to find out that Winston Peters…. is Winston Peters.
Could Mr Luxon patch up the Government if it collapses? Stick around in 2025 and find out!
Leftist Kiwi Writes 