Jason Walls: Christopher Luxon’s brilliant week of diplomacy; terrible week of politics

THREE KEY FACTS

• Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has spent the better part of the week in Vietnam, where he signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement with its Government.
• He’s faced a mountain of critisim over his interview with Mike Hosking on Tuesday.
• But on this trip, he oversaw more than a dozen MoU signings he says will help Kiwi businesses operate in Vietnam.

All he had to do was say yes.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon could have saved himself a nightmare news cycle by telling Mike Hosking: “Yes, yes I would have sacked Andrew Bayly if he hadn’t offered his resignation.”

Quick, easy with absolutely no political repercussions.

Instead, he waffled through non-answers and embarrassed himself in front of hundreds of thousands of people.

Mere hours after the disaster of an interview, Luxon was on a plane bound for Vietnam hoping to put the saga behind him.

Before jumping on the Defence Force 757, he told the business delegation: “Anything you need from me to sell you - just grab me. For a selfie, or a handshake, anything.”

It was quickly apparent that the Luxon in studio with Hosking couldn’t have been further from the Luxon who ping-ponged across Vietnam this week.

That man could not stop saying “yes”.

Jumping on an EV scooter at a product showcasing and pretending to ride it? Yes.

Banging a giant drum in front of Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his entourage of several dozen? No problem at all.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon beats a large drum at the State Gardens in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo / Giles Dexter

Donning a chef’s apron and trying his hand at cooking premium snails in a broth with Fonterra cream? Absolutely.

The man was up for anything.

And his yes mentality goes into overdrive during events.

Other prime ministers would tolerate the meet and greets on international trips at best; politely smiling for selfies and handshakes before moving on to the next event.

In stark contrast, prying Luxon away from a function is damn near impossible.

At several occasions on this trip, he risked throwing the carefully crafted, meticulously detailed, down-to-the-minute schedule out the window, as he just wanted a yarn with someone doing business in Vietnam.

It’s often said the hardest job in politics is the leader of the opposition. Well, that job doesn’t hold a candle to the staffer tasked with telling Christopher Luxon “it’s time to go” at an event.

And this enthusiasm is clearly paying off.

The new “comprehensive strategic partnership” may sound like buzz-word bingo, conjured by a strike team of bureaucrats.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon during a cooking demonstration in Vietnam. Photo / Giles Dexter

But the fact the deal puts New Zealand into a group of 10 priority countries when it comes to diplomatic and trade ties with Vietnam is majorly significant.

The problem for the Prime Minister is that for voters, his successes in Vietnam pales in comparison to his blunders back home.

The interview with Hosking will be seared into the memory of those who listened for months to come.

And it was just the latest in a series of blunders from the Prime Minister.

Luxon this week has proved he has become an excellent diplomat, an unapologetic cheerleader for New Zealand while reinforcing his credentials as an elite dealmaker.

Unfortunately for him, the Prime Minister has also proved he remains gaffe-prone, weak in interviews and, at times, a liability in communicating his own Government’s message.

The former is important for New Zealand Inc but the latter will linger in voters' minds, which is a serious problem for the Prime Minister, and therefore the Government.

Jason Walls is Newstalk ZB’s political editor and has years of experience in radio and print, including in the parliamentary press gallery for the NZ Herald and Interest.co.nz. He is also the chairman of the press gallery.