Editorial: Walk before they make you run

Health Minister David Clark, flanked by Cabinet colleagues Kris Faafoi, left, and Grant Robertson, announcing his resignation. Photo / Mark Mitchell

EDITORIAL

Two departures from politics this week, from opposite sides of the House, bore little in common. But closer reflection reveals similar battle scars from the bear pit of politics.

On the one side, former National deputy leader Paula Bennett announced she was standing down to seek opportunities in the business world. Her pre-recorded video clip with comedian Tom Sainsbury made much merriment, cavorting in matching gossamer kimonos which barely concealed contempt for the new National Party leadership.

On the other side, former Labour Health Minister David Clark. His abruptly called press conference on Thursday had media scrambling to attend a sombre stand-up where he stoically intoned his resignation with mates-to-the-end Kris Faafoi and Grant Robertson as Easter Island bookends at his shoulders.

But they had much in common. Both were left with little choice than the big step down.

Bennett had been ruthlessly consigned to the unpopular seats of the National Party bus after undertaking the ill-fated role of mustering support for the doomed party leader Simon Bridges. Her unbridled glee at the first missteps by the new management of Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye only further isolated herself from the party hierarchy. When told Kaye claimed Paul Goldsmith had Māori lineage, her trademarked look of bemusement and droll response of "Paul? Okay Right." must have cemented her fortunes with the new head girl.

To remain, she would have had to live with frequent rebuttals from the people she once held court with; irrelevant; sidelined; overlooked; and, the cruellest fate of all for a politician, ignored.

Clark too, had no choice but to go. His attempts to ride out criticism of his follies during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic were never likely to succeed. But he hung in there, hoping each day for the turnaround. The team of 5 million showed little inclination for forgiveness, let alone kindness, for a minister who left his post during a crisis.

Another commonality for the two departures was a coincidence of timing. Both occurred as new National leader Todd Muller was making important announcements to the media.

In the case of the Bennett announcement, Muller was within an hour or two of outlining National's broad approach to the economic recovery from the pandemic to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce on a Monday afternoon. Instead, all attention was still on the fallout from Bennett's announcement. That Muller didn't know about it beforehand was only made worse by Bennett's collusion with a comedian.

In the case of Clark falling on his sword, Muller was making a fairly decent fist of outlining his new shadow Cabinet to fill the gaps left by Bennett. The promotion of Shane Reti and the elevation of Bridges were timely responses to criticisms around diversity his in top team.

Both times, Muller was left mid-sentence as journalists were alerted to a surprise press conference and vanished before his eyes.

Politics can be cruel like that.