John Armstrong: Delegates thirsting for wine and policy

It was something of an omen for the remainder of National's annual conference that the wine should run out during Friday night's $25-a-ticket cocktail party.

Those thirsting for a drink had about as much success in finding one as those thirsting for fresh policy ideas during the rest of the weekend.

The shortage of vino could be blamed on poor planning. The policy drought was very deliberate.

Despite Don Brash saying this conference was all about informing voters what they could expect from a National Government, it did little of the sort. National is not ready to talk policy. It is too early in the electoral cycle. It is wary of having its ideas pilfered by Labour.

Behind-the-scenes, senior MPs are debating how far the party should shift towards the centre to pick up the extra 5 per cent of the vote which party president Judy Kirk says National needs to win to govern.

Worry that the centrist push could weaken the party's brand provoked an unusual public warning from Dr Brash that if National was going to try to "out-Labour Labour" then "count me out".

Though the remark would seem to indicate turbulence beneath the surface, it caused barely a ripple on the otherwise smooth waters of the conference.

The lack of policy or flagging of policy direction made this something of a Clayton's conference - the conference you have when you don't really need to have a conference.

It was also a conference that had its usual vitality stage-managed out of it.

National is now putting a premium on discipline and unity, thereby adopting Helen Clark's successful strategy in Opposition prior to Labour's victory in 1999.

That seems to require structuring proceedings so delegates say nothing for fear they may say something damaging or embarrassing.

The public sessions were instead devoted to highlighting National's front bench as an alternative Cabinet-in-waiting.

That would have been a good idea if those MPs had something really meaty to say. Apart from Nick Smith - who outlined a five-point plan to fix the country's infrastructure deficit - they largely did not.

It was all slightly reminiscent of the old Communist Party congresses in Russia, as delegates obediently clapped their way though a lengthy line of 15-minute speeches filled with generalities.

The pattern became familiar: outline the problems, say National will fix them without saying how and give Labour a good lashing while you are at it.

This exercise had one thing going for it. There was no chance of any putative challengers upstaging the leader before he made his keynote address yesterday morning, while anyone contemplating trying also had Kirk's stern lecture ringing in their ears.

The president reinforced the message about discipline by warning that "perceptions of disunity were as harmful as disunity itself".

In other words, MPs should not say or do anything which might fuel yet another round of speculation about Dr Brash's leadership.

In his speech, Dr Brash cleverly sought to portray his failings as a leader as strengths - only to blow it immediately afterwards.

He exited the Christchurch Convention Centre as fast as dignity would allow, citing a pressing engagement preventing him talking to the media at the conference's conclusion.

Dr Brash's advisers will view this ruse - unprecedented for a leader in the modern age - as a cunning ploy which forced the television channels to confine their coverage to him delivering his speech rather than footage afterwards.

However, it was also a massive vote of no confidence in Dr Brash's ability to front to the media.