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A gutless strategy

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 pm, June 22nd, 2011 - 41 comments

Key is due to fly in to help announce the bad news in Christchurch tomorrow only to fly straight out to India the next day.

It’s seems the timing is all about keeping Key’s brand away from the bad news – he’ll do the sombre announcement and then leave others to deal with the fall out.

Gutless.

Flattering to deceive

Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, May 28th, 2011 - 23 comments

Ever noticed the big political journos will do a scathing attack on one major party then, the next day, one on the other major party? It’s about maintaining access. If you only run attacks on one party, you’ll stop getting stories from them (nearly all political stories come from the opposing party). After this, it was Labour’s turn in Armstrong’s sights today, or was it?

It’s official: Key reveals “inertia” strategy

Written By: - Date published: 4:37 pm, May 18th, 2011 - 19 comments

Speaking to Audrey Young in today’s Herald, Prime Minister John Key stated “the one thing I’ve come to learn is that the single biggest driving factor in Kiwisaver is inertia”. This confirms what many in the community have been thinking, and a few in the business world have been saying, that inertia is also the single biggest driving factor in the National/ACT/Maori Party government’s economic policy.

100% Key

Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, May 17th, 2011 - 10 comments

John Key’s $800,000 funnies

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 pm, May 6th, 2011 - 45 comments

Turns out John Key quite likes making jokes about his DPS entourage.

I wonder if he finds it even funnier that we’re the ones picking up the $800k bill for them.

Protocol

Written By: - Date published: 6:44 am, May 6th, 2011 - 129 comments

Judith Collins has broken protocol to defend John Key’s overuse of the DPS.

Looks to me like the threats they’re most concerned about are the threats to brand Key.

And they’ll pick and chose the rules they want to defend it.

Conservative majority in Canada

Written By: - Date published: 5:16 pm, May 3rd, 2011 - 29 comments

Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have won majority government in the Canadian election with under 40% of the vote on a turnout of just over 58%. We will be able to get an idea of what a second term John Key government would be like as Harper is cut from the same cloth as Key and Cameron. […]

This brighter future

Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, April 6th, 2011 - 26 comments

The mannequin candidate

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, March 20th, 2011 - 35 comments

Key was full of excuses and vague promises for Christchurch on Q+A. He ruled out a levy and indicated the rebuilding would be funded out of savage cuts to our public services. He stuck to his script. Maybe the earpiece he was wearing helped. What was being whispered in his ear? And who was telling our PM what words to mouth?

Christchurch RWC

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, March 16th, 2011 - 76 comments

I don’t think that anyone who has been paying attention to events in Christchurch could seriously have expected the city to host a major sporting event like the RWC within a few short months.  So why is John Key the last person left in the country who is denying the obvious?

I See Red

Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, March 7th, 2011 - 62 comments

The government has a fair bit on its plate right now, like the  Christchurch quake, and  the hammering that ordinary folk are getting from the cost of living.  So its reassuring to know that the PM’s office has its eye on the ball.  It’s all over the “important issues”…

Sniffing produce

Written By: - Date published: 5:42 pm, February 21st, 2011 - 22 comments

This really should be Friday Fun, but maybe your Monday needs a smile too.  Today on Kiwiblog an ex ACT MP David Garrett complains about telling off an Asian-but-I’m-not-racist woman in the supermarket for sniffing fruit.  Apparently it’s just not done here.  Isn’t it?  Someone should tell John Key…

Key out of touch on food & poverty

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, February 20th, 2011 - 67 comments

Hunger and malnutrition are stalking New Zealand families. Hundreds of thousands are just one shock – whether an illness, or a large bill – from not being able to afford basic food. This is not good enough in our land of plenty. Multi-millionaire John Key doesn’t empathise. To him poverty is a moral failing but he’s seriously out of touch.

Re-imagining Danyl’s special theory of Key

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, February 19th, 2011 - 45 comments

Over at Dimpost, Danyl wrote an interesting piece after seeing the video of John Key in the House saying that if Kiwi families find themselves needing to go to foodbanks it is their fault. That nasty moment, Danyl thought, explained the disconnect between how the political Left and the general public perceives Key. Actually, it’s just the surface.

Decline & fall of the odd-spot PM

Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, February 18th, 2011 - 57 comments

Yesterday, the Nats panicked. Under fire for failing to deliver jobs, for planning to sell assets to pay for tax cuts for the rich, and the gross hypocrisy of the BMW debacle, they put out 5 press releases less than 2 hours trying to spin their way out of trouble. It didn’t work. Nor does smile and wave anymore. The NBR calls this John Key’s ‘Wile E Coyote moment’.

As much as possible for the underclass

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, February 9th, 2011 - 8 comments

The PM has obviously been stung by the surge of negative publicity generated by the TV3 piece on the residents of McGehan Close. The revival of this particular piece of exploitative hypocrisy risks tarnishing the sacred Key brand.  Can’t have that.  So Key is trying to convince us that the Nats have done “as much as possible” for the underclass…

No Aroha for Key

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, February 7th, 2011 - 27 comments

Tomorrow is the first day of Parliament for the year, so I’m picking we’ll see John Key’s annual passing mention of the ‘underclass’. You remember Key’s promise to make lifting the underclass his priority, eh? Well, Key doesn’t. He has abandoned Aroha Nathan after using her for PR and now says he can’t do anything for the poor.

The everyman spin

Written By: - Date published: 9:36 am, February 6th, 2011 - 59 comments

More and more often Key is being reported as a product of spin – a man carefully cultivating his celebrity.

For now that means the political class will heap praise on him for “doing politics” well.

But as time goes on and the economy worsens and the only hard policy that comes out is about looking after the rich few at the expense of the many, this “everyman” schtick will wear very thin.

Write your own headline

Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, December 20th, 2010 - 46 comments

“PM plays power games with President Obama” reads the headline!  Sounds exciting doesn’t it?  Alas.  The actual events described are somewhat pathetic.  Key went personally begging for a photo op but the President of the US was too busy doing stuff that mattered.  I think I could have written a much more accurate headline.  I’m sure you can too…

John Key: Celebrity

Written By: - Date published: 3:59 pm, December 16th, 2010 - 27 comments

Isn’t it great we’ve got that nice man John Key running the country?

He can’t sing, but he does entertain his fans so.  Last year he sang Snoopy’s Christmas for his fans, this year Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  He sure does know what it takes to be popular.  And he always does his best.

You really can’t square the circle

Written By: - Date published: 11:37 pm, December 12th, 2010 - 18 comments

One of the central tenets of Brand Key is that he can do what ‘normal’ politicians can’t. With his boundless optimism and those mysterious trader skills, he can solve problems no-one else can. For a while, some believed he can satisfied both Maori and the Rednecks on the foreshore. Of course, really, he had just done a cheap rebrand of the existing law.

Key to get White House invite?

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, November 1st, 2010 - 45 comments

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on her way to New Zealand this week, bringing the customary promises of good will and better relations between our two countries.

The big question is however: Will Clinton be bringing the overdue White House invite for our Prime Minister? John Key has claimed after all he and Obama are best pals… and he can pick up the phone anytime. Now’s the test.

Why the Right is worried 2: Key

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, October 19th, 2010 - 56 comments

While the economy burns, Key is  fiddling with spiders. He is the good times PM. He’s all about getting  himself in front of a camera and having a grin, as if he’s on a 3 year  project in collecting pictures for his photo album, rather than Prime  Minister. Key’s inability to handle Paul Henry like a real leader put a deep scratch in his Teflon. The brand is fading.

Discontent within National

Written By: - Date published: 1:14 pm, October 18th, 2010 - 25 comments

The Sunday Star Times had an interesting piece quoting a National MP on growing discontent within the party.  Discontent at the public perception of National as a “one man band”, and the way that the party has been reduced to “The John Key Show”.  With National’s failure on the economy growing ever more evident, is the power of brand Key enough to carry the Nats to a win in 2011?

Why the Right is worried 1: Economy

Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, October 18th, 2010 - 35 comments

Yesterday, former National media trainer Paul Holmes and former National Party President Michelle Boag attempted an extraordinary hatchet job on Phil Goff on Q+A. No analysis of the real policy divide that Goff and Labour with National carved out at the national conference, just attack – why? The economy, policy, Key’s fading brand, and the polls.

Brand Key & the supercity

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, October 14th, 2010 - 35 comments

When you boil it down, John Key’s much-vaunted political nous is about keeping his personal brand clean. He farms out anything controversial to ministers and leaving them to it. The problem with that approach is muppets are left to run things with no oversight resulting in political cock-ups. Case in point: the Supercity.

‘Ask Me No Questions’ Key

Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, October 11th, 2010 - 14 comments

John Key has claimed that he doesn’t turn down many interview requests – but he turned down another one from Morning Report this morning.  In fact you can count on one hand the number of times he has appeared on Morning Report in each of the last 2 years.

Next time, could we have a PM that looks and sounds a bit more like a PM?

Written By: - Date published: 8:40 am, October 11th, 2010 - 37 comments

Here’s John Key this morning on Breakfast, talking about Paul Henry’s resignation. Naturally he’s eager to downplay the influence of Kiwi-Indian business and diplomatic interests, and to deny any government involvement in the decision. The most revealing part of the interview is when Key stammers: “I have not spoke [sic] to Paul Henry” Key says […]

Key’s bunker of spin

Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, September 27th, 2010 - 23 comments

According to NBR Key is locked down in a bunker of spin that separates him from his party and his caucus.

And it seems like that’s holding the hard right policy back for now.

But things will change in a second term.

Beware the young advisers – they reflect their masters

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, June 27th, 2010 - 25 comments

An interesting parallel between Kevin Rudd  and the Key government’s leadership style surfaced in our papers this weekend. On Saturday, Tracy Watkins had this to say in the DomPost: Dislike of the Australian leader seems to have reached legendary proportions in the three years since he won the election a dislike surpassed only by the […]

Curse of the celebrity politician

Written By: - Date published: 1:55 am, June 7th, 2010 - 72 comments

The story goes that David Lange he was informed of the Rainbow Warrior bombing while lining up for the Tuckshop at Waiwera Hot Pools. As a young fella I guess I had a view of a PM as kind of distant, so I thought it was fantastic that Lange actually just stood in line like everyone else. Has ‘Brand Key’ paradoxically forced Key into a distance where he can’t act like previous PMs?

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