21 JANUARY 2023
Soon-to-be NZ Prime Minister Chris Hipkins talks to media on Parliament steps. Video / NZ Herald
OPINION
Chris Hipkins has had less than seven days to prepare for becoming Prime Minister but in many ways, he will be better prepared than Jacinda Ardern who had a full seven weeks.
And not just because of his impressive political CV, but because of his temperament.
Besides being acompetent operator with the capacity for a huge workload, Hipkins has a more relaxed style to politics than Ardern.
It will be important to Labour’s chances at the election that he does not lose that.
He will now face unimagined pressures as Prime Minister and he cannot take the top job lightly.
But one of Hipkins’ most endearing qualities has been his ability to function without applying filters to himself.
That means he can speak to the public in ways that don’t sound rehearsed, that he is not just reciting “today’s message” as determined in the inner sanctum.
It means he is often humorous, has the ability to laugh at himself. He is not afraid to show his flaws.
So long as there is an underlying competence, and there is no doubting that, a politician with flaws is much more relatable than one who tries to be perfect.
It is what makes Hipkins likeable.
Chris Hipkins speaks during a press conference at Parliament today. Photo / Getty Images
Hipkins also has the ability to be disarmingly frank and less defensive about Government failures. He will say when he doesn’t know something. He does not flannel. He can acknowledge problems and address them.
There are obvious exceptions to that – principally the cruel system that Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) became in 2021.
Most of the bios of the incoming Prime Minister are again listing those failures as black marks against Hipkins.
But much of the time, that system served the country well. The unfairness unfolded as demand far exceeded supply at a time when New Zealand was still trying to contain Covid-19 and limit arrivals.
The system would have continued to improve but MIQ was dismantled altogether once the virus was rampant.
A few policy failures do not disqualify Hipkins from high office. No minister has a flawless record. It should make him more attuned to policy risk.
Hipkins was called upon to become Health Minister during Covid and Police Minister during a surge in ram raids because not only does he know how to get things done, he knows how to communicate about how he getting things done.
Once Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson ruled himself out of claiming the vacancy of Prime Minister, Hipkins was the obvious choice because of his competence and established relationship with the public.
He has been close to Ardern and Robertson for many years when all were post-student operatives and advisers in Beehive offices - although Hipkins has never lost the look of a student.
Hipkins learned at the foot of the master, Trevor Mallard, who was a highly effective minister in Helen Clark’s Government.
He also acquired similar portfolios to his old boss, Education and State Services, the latter giving the minister an overview of every Government agency.
Ardern, Robertson and Hipkins all entered Parliament at the same time, in 2008.
They bonded in Opposition as they battled to keep David Cunliffe out of the Labour leadership. They attempted to install Robertson, twice unsuccessfully, and then Ardern, successfully, after securing the support of the Maori caucus.
Hipkins was looking like a strong contender for the Labour leadership in the event of Jacinda Ardern failing to hold on to power at this year’s election – October 14 - but as Leader of the Opposition.
Ardern’s unexpected departure has thrust Hipkins into a position he never imagined would be his.
