Editorial: Loose cannons signal an end to the honeymoon period

Opinion

When historians come to chart the fortunes and foibles of John Key's first National Government, they might mark the second week of May 2009 - exactly six months since his party's sweep to power - as the moment the honeymoon came to a crashing halt.

In a week that Key would have expected gushing headlines over his first pow-wow with Barack Obama and a multi-million-dollar injection for the planned national cycleway, he was instead overseeing damage control involving two of his rising-star MPs.

Until now, the Government's popularity has been unscathed by the economic recession and one or two troubles within the National Party. Key has been a controlled leader with his hand firmly on the tiller. Indeed, as his deputy Bill English wryly predicted in Parliament, Key showed who was boss when the Prime Minister announced a $50m kickstart for the cycleway - English had previously said there'd be no such cash available.

But two issues last week have destroyed the aura of invincibility around Key's Government. The appointment of Christine Rankin as a Families Commissioner is baffling. Her heart is undoubtedly in the right place, but she is a polarising, political timebomb and prime fodder for a Labour opposition that is starting to recover from its election annihilation. Even National's allies are struggling with the appointment: "It's a terrible mistake," spluttered Peter Dunne.

The fact Rankin is "really surprised" about the political reaction to her appointment is troubling. She is out of touch with how badly her culture of extravagance and touchy-feely management methods were received by New Zealanders.

Those who argue that her personal circumstances play no relevance in her appointment are wrong. Rankin has been divorced three times and is married to a fourth husband, whose former wife took her own life six months ago.

On TVNZ's Close Up, Rankin spoke platitudes about the importance of family units, but was short on specifics. In that sense, she might fit in well with the Families Commission, which has a sense of being a wishy-washy politically correct agency with few tangible results to show for the taxpayer dollars invested.

Some have speculated that the Government has appointed Rankin to fast-track the commission's demise or change of direction. But she is only one of seven commissioners and, besides, politicians are not that smart. If that were their aim, there is an easier method of execution than risking a long-term political nightmare.

Aside from a couple of scripted lines, Key has carefully avoided commenting about Rankin's appointment. He has left it to Social Welfare Minister Paula Bennett, whose communication skills have been called into question once again. Bennett initially raised the prospect of Rankin's new role with Dunne, who made his views explicit.

He says he had the indication she would not be hired and that was the last he heard until the appointment was announced last week.

Bennett - who failed to tell Key about certain matters pertaining to her daughter's jailed gangster partner earlier this year - is still a very green MP, and considered a weak link by the opposition. Key will need her to sharpen up.

List MP Melissa Lee proved herself an even looser cannon this week. Her Mt Albert by-election chances - slim enough as they were - have been destroyed by her public utterances about South Auckland criminals. The National Party spin-doctors failed to hose this down, and while it was commendable Lee eventually apologised, many were still left with the impression she believes what she said originally. The Government's honeymoon looks like it's over - it lasted an extraordinarily long time. The goal for Key now is to make the marriage work.