Fran O'Sullivan: Todd Muller comes in from cold after his messy debut

Todd Muller, National Party leader. Photo / AP

COMMENT

Todd Muller has quickly jumped astride the unexpected gift horse that Jacinda Ardern sent him and played himself into being a clear contender for the September 19 election.

Muller was quick to capitalise on the comedy of errors at the border, showing he is not a busted flush after all when it comes to being National's leader. His stirring speech in Parliament mid-week held the Government to account for the lax quarantine procedures.

Pity that the Government benches had emptied out.

But it was the speech the newbie National leader needed to make to persuade his colleagues that the decision to shaft Simon Bridges as leader — if by a narrow margin — was the right one.

His performance would have gone some way to persuade the many MPs within the National caucus who supported Bridges they should not mount a counter-coup.

Prior to this the optics around his debut as National leader had been woeful.

The earlier fiasco over his "Make America Great Again" souvenir cap; the debacle around MP Paul Goldsmith's ridiculous "Māori" status, which led to him being lampooned as "Ngati Epsom"; the lack of Māori MPs in the top echelons of caucus; and deputy leader Nikki Kaye's fatuous claim that National had a "moral obligation" to win the upcoming election combined to become high farce.

His Facebook-streamed leadership launch last Sunday was also shambolic: 20 minutes late, bad audio and Māori flag upside down ensuring the substance was overlooked.

Yet substance there was.

Particularly around his pledge that an incoming National-led Government would not raise taxes to pay down the mega-billions of debt the Coalition is borrowing to get New Zealand through the impact of the Covid-19 economic crisis.

Trouble was, no detailed policy papers have been produced.

This lies counter to the general expectation that revenue will need to be raised through taxation to address the debt.

MP Amy Adams is in charge of National's election policy development.

Adams has not really had an opportunity to strut her stuff in this powerful role.

But National will need to get a march on to catch up with the Government.

Not only to put forward election policies that have broad voter appeal to those Kiwis who do not want to become reliant on State largesse in the post-Covid-19 crisis recessionary environment.

But also to puncture holes in Ardern's political facade.

It was obvious this week that Ardern has yet to learn the Harry Truman maxim: "The buck stops here" when it comes to political leadership.

But as astute observers of the political game know, while Cabinet ministers may not be responsible for the lax security breach that allowed the two untested and infected women to get out of self-isolation early — those ministers are accountable.

That failure by Ardern to readily accept this opens a wedge for National.

Bridges has been assiduous right from the get-go in hammering the Government over the necessity to "test test test" and to forge a hard border.

He wrangled behind the scenes to ensure experts like Sir David Skegg provided critical insights into issues with the Ministry of Health's leadership of the Covid-19 response.

Kaye was also a key player in ensuring a raft of experts gave evidence to the special parliamentary select committee focusing on the response to the pandemic.

But she was also a critical player in the "revenge of the staffers".

It has not escaped notice in political circles that many of those behind the Muller coup have spent a considerable time in their career as parliamentary or ministerial staffers.

This includes Muller, who worked for former National Prime Minister Jim Bolger and forged a close friendship with Matthew Hooton who worked for former Trade Minister Sir Lockwood Smith. Kaye, Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis have all worked in the political machine and their status in the caucus was rewarded.

Even Goldsmith — who was given a clear wink and a nod that his finance role was safe in Hooton's Herald column on coup day — was blooded in politics.

This is not universally endorsed by other MPs who have forged outstanding careers prior to entering politics.

This will be put to one side if Muller can get National's support up above 40 per cent in the political polling.

Earlier this week, I argued it's the right time for Grant Robertson to spend a billion dollars out of his $20.2b Covid-19 slush fund to rigorously protect the border against the virus and build the best intelligence to ensure New Zealand is well-equipped to deal with future disease threats.

The two initiatives I put forward — a National Security Agency and a NZ Centre for Disease Control — have sparked widespread debate in the business community.

The border must be made safe now and into the future through the use of world-beating technology and strong security.

But it goes further.

The substantial under-performance must be probed as part of a wide-ranging Royal Commission.

It is simply unacceptable for the Government to pass the buck on this any longer.