Govt Planning: Defining Moment Looms For Govt, And John Key
January 27th, 2010
As it moves into what informed commentators see as a make-or break year, the Govt faces big challenges. Will John Key sail along as Mr Nice Guy, or will he show the steel of a real leader? The Govt did well in 2009 to shelter NZ from the worst effects of the global financial crisis. Now it has to get on with the job it set itself of lifting NZ’s economic performance, while at the same time it deals with the fiscal legacy of debt being incurred by the spendthrift policies inherited from the Labour Govt (think student loans, working-for-families, and bloated public sector costs).
Key has seized the centre ground of NZ politics. Parties inherently opposed to each other work with him amicably, even enthusiastically. Voters find him engaging. He has found it easier to operate within the confines of MMP than either Jim Bolger or Jenny Shipley. He has got a unified Cabinet in some portfolios displaying outstanding new political talent (notably Steven Joyce). Despite all this, there is some restiveness among party cadres. Those who believe in “Brand National” are eager for the Govt to break out from the economic cul-de-sac into which the Clark Govt drove NZ.
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There are no silver bullets in politics. Elements like tax reform inevitably provoke high-pitched screams from those who lose their comforts. The PM’s opening statement to Parliament, on February 9, could be a defining moment for the Key-led coalition as will the May Budget.
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Duncan Cotterill