In today’s party political broadcast from Richard Long in the Dominion Post we have the suggestion that Helen Clark’s ‘trouble’ dealing with John Key is akin to Muldoon’s trouble dealing with David Lange. To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen talking to Dan Quayle, ” I knew David Lange (a little) and John Key ain’t no David Lange.”
David Lange was a man of charisma, and strong principles of social justice built off his Methodist background. Not everything he did, or especially he oversaw, would I agree with but he was a Leader, with a capital L. John Key is a shadow of him, in all respects.
This morning Mike Moore has part two of his bizzare rantings about himself, and as ever amid a sea of mixed metaphors, old hackneyed jokes and, for good measure, personal abuse, Mike has one moment of insight. He describes
the National Party, where the shallow men have replaced the hollow men.
Indeed- and that is the very issue here. The focus on John Key should be on the fact that he is a leader without substance. His position on almost any issue of importance in recent times has moved and shifted with the breeze. Just take Iraq, and climate change. He’s still not completely sure what he thought of the Springbok Tour. We are also to believe he is now happy with issues he has railed against like interest free student loans, four weeks leave and more. It is just not credible.
John Key is no doubt a smart person. He was a successful money trader, and someone who has done extremely well for himself and his family. But his prevaracations and downright u-turns give me no confidence at all that he could be a credible Prime Minister of this country.
The contrast is with Helen Clark who has the intellect, experience and principles to give me confidence about New Zealand’s future. Looking back over eight years we can see the principles of social democracy in action- greatly improved access to health and education, fairer workplaces, an independent foreign policy and a committment to playing our part on the world stage.
Looking forward it is Labour values- fairness, equality- that will drive opportunity and success for New Zealand and New Zealanders. John Key may want to adopt the semblence of those values for electoral purposes, but inside the shallow man is still the money trader, looking for the best deal for today; ready to sell to the highest bidder again tomorrow.
Key’s claim to leadership is particularly weak. He’s the least experience aspirant in a generation - I’ve observed elsewhere but possibly here (I can’t recall) that he has less experience that Lange did and I completely agree with your comparison with Kennedy/Quayle.
I agree too that Key’s clever but not nearly wise enough to be Prime Minister. Clark, Shipley, Bolger even Moore all had considerable parliamentary experience as well as experience in government and Ministerial roles. Key has none of this. None. Therefore, who’ll he rely on to compensate? McCully? Worrying!