John and Bill

Catching up on stories, the joint interview with John Key and Bill English is a good read.

Some extracts:

John, if you won an outright majority at the next election, would you still enter into co-operation deals with other parties?

JK: We’d have to look at that. My inclination would be to do so. We’re trying to build a government. Our focus is on earning the right to be the next government, but in the end any government needs a period of time to roll out a programme. And I think for long term stability we could afford to be generous.

Would a National first-term Cabinet look much like the shadow Cabinet does now, in terms of who holds which portfolio?

JK: In terms of the top level personalities, the first dozen or so, I think you’ve got to say yes. They are strong individuals who have good capability. Whether they’re in their exact portfolios is something we would decide further down the track. I think there is a lot of competition. But some stuff is rock solid – Bill’s going to be Minister of Finance.

Bill, is the public expectation around future personal tax cuts too high as a result of what was offered in 2005?

BE: The public would expect a National government to make a significant difference to the tax regime. Probably the expectation of a single big hit would be too high. We’ve talked for some time now about a credible programme of tax cuts rather than a big hit.