Leader back in limelight

Don Brash was in a media scrum most of the day. Picture / Martin Sykes

Don Brash's first outing since having "fallen from grace" was declared a triumph by some of his minders.

"This is fantastic, Wayne," MP Maurice Williamson whispered to Dr Brash's chief of staff, Wayne Eagleson, during a walkabout in the DressSmart Mall in Onehunga. 'There hasn't been a single negative comment."

"This is perfect," another thrilled young staffer said to list MP Jackie Blue, one of four National MPs with the leader yesterday.

Perfect maybe on the face of it - Dr Brash in an ordinary shopping mall talking to ordinary people, mainly mothers, and they weren't throwing bread rolls at him, which happened to Camilla Parker Bowles.

But behind the images, a polite reception for Dr Brash was mistaken for support or forgiveness.

Teacher Kathleen Dullabh, who happily spoke to the National Party leader in the shopping mall about her 13-week-old son, later told the Weekend Herald she had almost said something to him about his extra-marital affair.

"I would have said I was disappointed."

And she disagreed with Dr Brash's protestations that his private life is a no-go zone.

"I think it is appalling because the morals of the country do lie with the people in power or politics.

"So I think he is setting a bad example for our country.

"These are the people leading our country, which is a bit scary to me when their morals obviously are lacking."

The mall outing was the last of three Dr Brash made yesterday, on his return to official duties since news of his affair broke on Wednesday. His duties included buying a new pair of socks and a bag of tangelos.

If the aim of the day was for him to emerge at the other end without having uttered a word about his affair or made any blunders, it probably was a triumph.

He did not wander into the Lingerie Company shop in the mall - it was one of the few he didn't enter.

That would have been as disastrous a photo opportunity as the day he walked the plank the last time his leadership was in doubt (as it often is).

Yes, he talked passionately about the "scandal", but that was in a speech to local business men and women and he was referring to the time it took for Transit to get resource management approval.

And at the market garden fleamarket in Sandringham he avoided being photographed with any embarrassing vegetables or fruit.

Mostly it was "good on you", "all the best" and "keep it up, Don".

Pursued by about 25 members of the media, Dr Brash was subjected to an unprecedented level of personal questioning of a politician: Have you been having an affair with Diane Foreman? Can people trust you any more?

Is your honesty and integrity compromised? Are you honest? Do you think the public has a right to know this when you've been lying to your wife and your family? Does this compromise your stand on family values? Are you indifferent to the institution of marriage? What will this do for the women's vote? He deflected most of them.

The only one not asked was "did you have sexual relations with that woman?"

By day's end Dr Brash almost appeared to have become a victim - a public relations triumph indeed.