John Key has been getting a lot of advice from the twittering classes lately. They say he should sharpen up his political management, he should get an experienced political strategist into his back office, take a deep breath before shooting from the hip, take a firmer grip on his press conferences, and resist the well-baited hooks of angling reporters. But this would stultify what has been Key’s natural spontaneity as a politician and the easy rapport he has with voters. It would blunt the intuitive approach he takes to politics, and shut down the optimism he pumps out from the Beehive. The critics want to transform Key into the kind of control freak which is the style they identify with all Prime Ministers.

Key, luckily, seems to be impervious to all the advice being hurled at him from such luminaries as ex-politicians, or assorted “celebrities” who offer Sunday commentaries. Meanwhile, the latest Roy Morgan poll shows the Govt still commands around 52% support compared with 31% for Labour. It will almost certainly take a hit over the Richard Worth affair. The Mt Albert by-election has been fought largely on local issues, and only the incurably optimistic in National’s ranks thought the party had an outside chance of an upset. Melissa Lee’s campaign put paid to those hopes. National Ministers think the next few weeks will see a tidier structure emerging, where a higher premium will be placed on political management.

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