The Armstrong Awards
December 19th, 2009 at 3:00 pm by David FarrarJohn Armstrong first talks about who not not be Politician of the Year (a new rule stops someone winning it two years in a row so Key is ineligible), and then hands out the awards:
But when it comes to Politician of the Year, it is difficult to go past Tony Ryall. The Health Minister has hardly put a foot wrong in a portfolio which traditionally has been a political graveyard. Ryall’s political management in his portfolio has been exemplary, first with respect to the swine flu scare and then with the Labtests fiasco in Auckland.
Well done Tony. I doubt a Health Minister has ever won the award before.
Backbencher of the Year: Act’s John Boscawen. …
Polite to a fault, the Aucklander is not afraid of putting Cabinet ministers on the spot with well-timed and astutely worded questions that deliberately ignore or undercut Act’s alliance with National.
A self-employed finance and property investor before entering Parliament last year, he scored a minor coup in securing a much-needed select committee inquiry into finance houses.
And the other awards:
Rising stars: National’s Steven Joyce and Paula Bennett; Labour’s David Parker, Grant Robertson, Charles Chauvel, Phil Twyford and Chris Hipkins; the Maori Party’s Rahui Katene.
The “we wish 2009 never happened … please say it never happened” award: Shared by National’s Richard Worth, Kate Wilkinson, Melissa Lee and Kanwaljit Singh, and Labour’s Phil Goff and Chris Carter.
Quiet achievers: Foreign Minister Murray McCully, Trade Minister Tim Groser and (increasingly) Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee.
Jury’s out: Anne Tolley’s performance as Education Minister; Shane Jones’ chances of becoming Labour’s next leader.
Once were farmyard roosters, now feather dusters award: Act’s Rodney Hide and the Maori Party’s Hone Harawira.
Missing in action: The Greens’ new co-leader, Metiria Turei; the Greens in general; large chunks of Labour’s front bench.
Gone – but not forgotten: The Greens’ Sue Bradford.
Gone – and already forgotten: National’s Richard Worth.
December 19th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Agree with the choice of Ryall. Just yesterday had a conversation with a person working on the fringe of his orbit and the DHB’s and the feedback was that his efforts were very positive.
Vote:I am pleased to say that although I didn’t think he would be make the grade as very good he has done a good job. Indeed much better than most of the other ministers who are the time servers of this Govt.
Tony spent the last nine years immersing himself in the health area and the result is obvious. Unfortunately none of his peers in Govt. bothered to take the same initiative.
Ryalls objective since he was 16 years old has been to become the PM. If he keeps up the results then he will be sooner than most think.
December 19th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
I also agree that both Ryall and Boscawen deserve the recognition they have been given.
Vote:December 19th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Charles Chauvel a “rising star”.
More like a “fading comet”
December 19th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
I am glad to see ACT’s John Boscawen as “Backbencher of the Year”. From what I have observed, he has more honesty, integrity and a passion to help the most disadvantaged than National and Labour combined.
Vote:December 19th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
About Copenhagen =
Vote:What did that rooster Rodney Hyde say a while back? You could see his comeback out of this.
John Key can back track and get over this far more easily than the likes of Gordon Brown, Rudd and Obama. They are going to be hung out to dry by their voters. But he has to be decisive, or there will be a backlash here too. This could end the honeymoon – ask the farmers – if not handled well.
Economic growth goes to the top of the world’s agenda again, at last!
Groser comes out of it ok, but Smith, sadly, may be the fall guy?
And where does this take the credibility of Norman and Co? No doubt the search is already on for a new cause.
December 19th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
“Charles Chauvel a “rising star”.
More like a “fading comet” ”
And most likely to collide with the dead star Parakura to form a black hole.
Vote:December 20th, 2009 at 7:09 am
He obviously wanted to nominate John Key but felt others deserved the spotlight for a change. The Prime Minister has grasped the role of PM and now has a firm grip over his Government. Many mistake his easy going manner and try and take advantage of it. But those that do somehow start backtracking fast. Even that dreadful Mayor of North Shore is now saying it is the drugs. John Key is a very clever man who operates on a level of subtlety that some mistake as weakness – to their cost. He talks softly but he carries a big stick. A welcome change from the manner of Helen Clark and it is a style New Zealanders like best. If we think of our successful war leaders and our successful Prime Ministers and other Leaders and now John Key, they all have a similar style. It is very New Zealand.
Vote:December 20th, 2009 at 7:39 am
“Many mistake his easy going manner and try and take advantage of it. But those that do somehow start backtracking fast.”
You must be joking.
Please tell me how the Maori party has backtracked? They extorted many concessions from Key.
How has Nick Smith backtracked? He pushed the onerous ETS without any objection from Key.
Key is a very weak leader, and his hands-off style doesn’t augur well for the country. A year into his three-year term he has accomplished little.
Vote:December 20th, 2009 at 8:10 am
Smith does not do anything without John Key’s tacid support. Smith does not have the political skills to do otherwise. As for the Maori Party Sharples publicly apologised to Key over the world cup fiasco. Maolo you must be the type who likes leaders to be aggressive and nasty which to me shows a Leader with lack of confidence.
Vote:December 20th, 2009 at 8:56 am
You know, DPF, I’d be much more interested in your version of these awards than I was in “the Kiwiblog awards” where everyone voted.
[DPF: I have been thinking of doing such a thing and may do so this week]
Vote:December 20th, 2009 at 9:06 am
I think your summary of Key may be close to the mark tvb, you have put it very well.
Vote:December 20th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Every politician who thinks he/she can continue support for the global warming fiasco needs to read this, and the hugely negative public reaction in the comments:
Vote:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/17/AR2009121703682.html
December 20th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Even if nobody is interested?.
Vote:December 20th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Nothing wrong with Keys leadership style at all except that with this style you have to have the right lieutenants. Joyce and Ryall come to mind but when you look at Williamson, Heatley, Coleman, English and others whose names have become so familiar that we can’t remember them he clearly needs a bloody good clean out and he would be better to place people like Boscowan.
That aside he has yet to grasp the community of interest that voted against the anti smacking legislation, for tax cuts that are needed, for reduction in social spending and in Govt. spending.
The mantra of his govt. or at least of many of the ministers is that they will do nothing that will lose them votes.
Housing, both leaky home and housing NZ and building rules needs some clear direction and leadership. Not possible with Williamson and Heatley. That’s their folly for dumping Bob the Builder.
The best result for Key is that a bunch of these useless ministers get thrashed and replaced with people like Boscowan and Garret.
Power while like able and capable is not going to loose votes nor cash from the legal fraternity so change there will be like pulling teeth. Sometimes this makes a good case for State funding rather than having to rely on the old boys network for your supper.
The rising stars of this Govt. are Ryall and Power and they will be the next PM and DPM when Key and Joyce choose to retire. ( as things stand at this time of course.) Their biggest issue will be to find a competent finance minister to compliment them. No one appears on the stage at this point in time.
Interested to hear what others think.
Vote:December 20th, 2009 at 11:30 am
What is interesting about all these lists is the universal mediocrity of the names mentioned.
Take the ‘Rising Stars’ list, for instance – Bennett, Joyce, Chauvel, Hipkins, Robertson … in a previous age these remora fish would have been lucky to gain selection as candidates let alone being in Parliament; none of them would have survived five minutes under Muldoon, Holyoake, Kirk or Lange.
It is a sad indictment on politics that all the best people have either died, retired or are no longer getting involved in political parties that we now have to endure the dross and deadbeats.
I think parties which have to have the likes of Melissa Lee, Cam Calder, Lynn Pillay, Darien Fenton, David Garrett, or Kanwankit Singh as MPs, or that has to consider someone like Shane Jones (would have been lucky to score a job as Norman Kirk’s teaboy 40 years ago) as leadership material are in very serious trouble.
http://www.nightcitytrader.blogspot.com
Vote:December 20th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Bernard Hickey’s got an interesting take on the tax reform issue and his last comment is germane:
Politicians vs reformers. In other words, it’s not the job of a politician to always reflect the will of the people, it’s to do the right thing regardless. Not that the two can’t coincide and often they do.
But when you discard popular opinion and simply look at right vs wrong, what do we see?
Key’s retention of anti-smacking is a prime example of doing the wrong thing in the face of popular opinion which happens to be correct. Douglas is a prime example of doing the right thing regardless of popular opinion which happens to be wrong.
So in light of that, where’s Ryall and Power? I rate Ryall not least because of the process improvements that are finally, duh, being implemented. Centralised services like payroll and procurement are an absolute no-brainer and well done Ryall for finally doing something, even though it is simply common-sense.
Power’s knee-jerk removal of the provocation defence however marks him to me as a poll-driven fruitcake. He’s done the wrong thing for populist reasons. I don’t rate Power at all and I hope he never becomes PM.
At the same time while Ryall is a competent administrator he so far hasn’t demonstrated the x-factor requirement necessary to be a successful PM or deputy.
I don’t think either of them will be successful although one or both may well obtain those positions.
Vote: