Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, November 27th, 2008 - 91 comments
Categories: climate change, economy, International, john key -
Tags:
Don’t let Key go abroad representing us again until he has had some diplomacy training.
I can’t believe, I literally can’t believe, the comments he has made in the UK. In addition to the comments yesterday, where he called the new carbon-offset airport departure tax “protectionism” and said it will lead to a “contagion effect”, he is now reported to have told British Prime Minister (and former Chancellor) Gordon Brown that his new tax policy is “not necessarily rational”.
Think about how this looks to the UK. Key has not actually done the job of Prime Minister for one day and yet here he is in the UK, a guest of the British government, criticising the policies of a government that has been in power eleven years, insulting them in the crudest terms. ‘Who does this guy think he is?’ British leaders will be asking themselves, ‘some puffed up newbie presuming to tell us how to run our country’.
This is not how you do diplomacy, and it’s not how you do diplomacy because it doesn’t work. The UK doesn’t have to listen to us, least of all when we want them to change their policy on something as core to sovereignty as tax policy. If we want them to listen, we have to use constructive language (eg. ‘clearly, New Zealand is very concerned about climate change. We are also economically dependent on tourism and every year hundreds of thousands of people from the UK come to experience our beautiful country. We will be working with our British friends closely to see if it is possible to reduce emissions without making tourism from the UK to New Zealand unaffordable). Key’s comments have not been constructive or even nuanced, they have been plain insulting. Leaders are people too, be rude to them, attack their work, especially when you have just met them and have no experience of your own, and they will not look on your cause fondly.
No, Key won’t a public dressing down from Brown over this, but that’s not how diplomacy works. The consequences will be far more subtle and far more insidious. Key will have helped to deafen the ears of UK leaders to our voice. National should keep him in New Zealand where he can’t do any more harm (to our international relations at least) and get the competent diplomats like Tim Groser out there to repair the damage so far as it can be.
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NickC. I want him to stand up for NZ’s interests, but I want him to do it competently and effectively. By his inept choice of approach he has failed to do that.
Nice to see a family man with children running the country. So refreshing!
I am not dad4justice.
Steve,
You might not have read the second part of my earlier comment.
>>As a comment to Gordon, it was entirely appropriate for John as PM and Tourism Minister to question the tax and its efficacy to combat climate change. Therefore if the tax is not doing what it says on the packet it becomes a barrier to NZ’s tourism industry and protectionism.
Liar, d4j often puts a space before his punctuation, like this !
He’s also not as obvious as you, and often funny, cryptic and/or brutal. You’re just banal. So I’m not sure why you think anyone would confuse you for him. Perhaps in your heart’s longings. Which is sad more than anything. Don’t try so hard. Do engage with the topic, and let your writing style take care of itself.
Nice to see that Enid Sharples lives again though she used to be called Ena Sharples. A very acid tongued old biddy but memorable!
Damn, should have googled it first.
Enid. No, I read the second part but I’ve responded to it both in the post and in comments.
Liar. You may not be d4j but you’re no more interesting so far. Try harder, say something interesting, thoughtful and on topic.
Hands up who thinks Enid is actually in the UK?
I dont know why you’d want to live there.
Oh how we cringe to see Mr Key being all twittery over actually being with all those famous people, Mr Bush, the Queen.It’s embarrassing to watch.
If Dubya ( or anyone he fawns over) pats him on the back too often it’ll be like Holyoake when he rolled over like a pet puppy in the Vietnam era.
Thank God the USA president elect doesn’t want to include the rest of the world in continuing Bush’s war crimes.
Look back on youtube at Key’s ‘missing in action’ speeches about Iraq and shudder.
Oh how we cringe to see the embarrassing social ineptness of our Prime Minister being all twittery over actually being with all those famous people, Mr Bush, the Queen etc.
If Dubya ( or anyone he fawns over) pats him on the back too often it’ll be like Holyoake when he rolled over like a pet puppy in the Vietnam era.
Thank God the USA president elect doesn’t want to include the rest of the world in continuing Bush’s war crimes.
Look back on youtube at Key’s ‘missing in action’ speeches about Iraq and shudder.
Thank the dear Lord that Mr Cullen isn’t putting together a tax package with ideas he has nicked from little Alister Darling and that Brown lad. Otherwise we’d likely to have carbon taxes on cows, planes, cars, sheep and carbonated drinks in schools.
Steve, you didn’t argue the points that I reposted at all, rather you made a blanket assertion. But thats OK.
Felix and QTR are obviously automatons who spiel vacuous bile on stimulus by non left text. LPrents new moderation module should deal with them.
well researched Enid. Mr Cullen is a race horse. Dr Cullen is the former finance minister and former minister in charge of biting sarcasm, which you have yet to master. You might be better able to put your sharp nosed Thatcherism to work here, and rationalise how anything that ACT intends doing is not, in fact, incredibly damaging to New Zealand. (ie 3 strikes, Tabor, public financing for parties that are acronyms only, issuing itself better scientific qualifications than the rest of the world’s scientists etc etc). And also perhaps why John Key has been so eager to give them what they want instead of sticking to the policies he was elected on.
Sure its absolutely protectionism. Is John Key spluttering ‘that’s protectionism’ going to help? probably not no. But hey is Key’s foreign policy plan to sit back and wait for Cameron and Obama? They’re all the same age and bringing change right?
It’s the experience of a life time for him. Do you think he’s sick of being PM yet? or will the new toy last for a little bit longer?
Best call so far in the comments:
“”My mate Rodney told me that climate change is not real anyway, so you guys have nothing to worry about.’
That is Gold.
Poorest form in the comments:
Insider, for his/her plain nasty comments with little to contribute to debate. Congrats.
Oh dear dear Paul.
I’m not an ACT supporter and I dont know where you get your Thatcherism angle from but I guess any “evil capitalist running dog” FUD port in a storm while dear dear Labour are on the bench.
And I was refering to Michael Cullen as Mr Cullen as that is his name.
The rest of your comments don’t make any sense so I suggest you sharpen up.
Mike judging by your comment – ‘But don’t cry too much about poor old Gordy’s feeling being hurt as he’ll be out on his arse like helen soon enough when the BCP romp in’ –
Your getting a bit far ahead of yourself me thinks. The next general election over here isn’t until 2010. Still quite some way off and looking at the latest opinion polls David Cameron has become the 1st Tory leader since John Major to be the most preferred PM. Christ thats only taken them 12 – 15 years to have someone that makes the British voting public think there is an alternative. Currently Labour are only, at the most, 5 points behind the Tories as opposed to 24 points this time last year. Some sections of the MSM in the UK are slamming the Tories for now being totally out of touch and offering up few alternatives to Darling’s multi billion pound resuce package for the UK economy. There are also mummerings that parts of the Old Tories aren’t happy wth the centerist direction Cameron is taking their party.
Back to topic – While most people have no problem with John Key putting foward his opinions on the matter there is a way to do it and turning up as a guest of the UK govt and then telling a bloke who has been at the highest echilons of political power for over a decade and telling him his tax policy is a pile of poo just amounts to amatuer hour on John Keys part. Apart from being damaging in terms of trade relations its also smacks of NZ not really being that serious about carbon emissions or even international relations for that matter. I gather the conversation Brown had with his aides once Key left the room would’ve gone along the lines of – ‘Who the hell was that cluless chimp in a suit?’
Ahem – Redback “Darling’s multi billion pound resuce package for the UK economy”
Thats not what the press here are calling it are they? Lets be honest now.
Most press are calling it a craven vote buying waste of time that isnt going to give the citizen taxpayer bugger all cash back once the stealth increases are factored.
Mike
Sky News Australia, the Financial Times, US papers etc. Hardly left wing blogs.
the queen did not look especially pleased to see him either
RedBack – Then arguably the British inviting a new Prime Minister to visit who also happens to be the Minister of Tourism for the coutnry that will be most affected by a just-announced tax is just as much “amateur hour”.
How courteous would it be if you were invited to someone’s house for dinner only to be told as you arrived that they’re planning to punch you in the head as you leave? Clumsy comparison, yes, but effectively the same thing. I’d be kinda peeved too. If anything, Key’s repsonse was remarkably restrained.
Enid while this is off topic – I agree I don’t think borrowing more to beef up an economy that is based largeley on borrowing to begin with is a great idea. No one does. But the tories alternative of pretty much just sitting there and doing jack all is an even worse idea. It was also the tories that were responsible for VAT rises in the past 25 years anyway. One of which in 1987 was a whopping 5%. Given a choice most people will take the lesser of the 2 evils.
Knowning how rabidly partisan (both left & right) the UK MSM can be I’d be interested to hear where you took these opinions from.
Chrisburger - you said “Then arguably the British inviting a new Prime Minister to visit who also happens to be the Minister of Tourism for the coutnry that will be most affected by a just-announced tax is just as much “amateur hour’.
“While John Key has every right as PM and holding the tourism portfolio to raise his concerns with his British counterparts there is a way to do it and a way not to do it.He demonstrated the later quite appallingly. I know what endears Key to alot of Nat voters is his percieved ‘no nonsense’ ‘striaght talking’ ‘shoot from the lip’ style. That may work for him in NZ. But it just doesn’t cut it on the international stage. No offence but I think you maybe over inflating John Keys standing in international politics if you think Gordon Brown made a special point of inviting Key over to ‘talk shop’. The PM’s office organise these pretty much most days for an hour at the most for Brown to shake hands with various invited guests. It was a meet & greet seesion and photo op. Bringing the issue up at this time and the way he did was amatuer hour.