Journalists, who are essentially spectators of life, are notorious for pack-hunting. It’s currently fashionable for them to dismiss the prime minister as not up to much, calibre-wise.
When parliament is sitting I often watch question time. Understandably, many questions are directed at Luxon and, frankly, I’m impressed. His responses are always succinct and to the point.
I watched him a fortnight back send Jack Tame into an ill-mannered frenzy, constantly interrupting and shouting. Throughout Luxon remained cool-headed, polite and unruffled. He made Tame look ridiculous.
I think Luxon is on his way to becoming a great National prime minister. I say that as I’ve always been dismissive of the Nats, who far from promoting their original raison d’etre, namely a market economy, have been primarily interested in retaining office by the proven method of not rocking the boat. This caters to the public’s natural desirability for stability.
In that sense the Luxon government is revolutionary as they’ve declared war on excessive bureaucracy, cut the infantile and frustrating nonsense of naming government agencies in a redundant language few Kiwis speak, and many other overdue reforms.
These sort of radical initiatives have historically been the role Labour governments have fulfilled.
If not quite to the degree of Sir John Key, Luxon also has a warm blokiness about him. That kept Key in office, aided by a chaotic opposition, but they were wasted years in terms of achievements.
All things being equal, I suspect the Nats will deservedly bolt home in the next election, less than two years away. And if so, one key factor will be respect for Luxon, who it must be remembered has only been in parliament for a year. That fact alone makes him a standout PM.
This article was originally published by No Punches Pulled.
