Hipkins has no one outside politics

The Post reports:

Power is the currency wielded in the capital but who really holds it?

Former prime ministers from Helen Clark to John Key, Bill English and Jacinda Ardern built a coterie of backroom alliances and networks they reached out to, but new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, by his admission, dances to his own tune.

Absent are close advisers in business, academia and community leaders, aside from a trusted and longstanding network of political confidants. Hipkins counts the political intel gleaned from the local sports field and Pak N’ Save as most valuable.

“I don’t have a huge advisory network outside of Parliament in any formal way,” Hipkins said.

This is very different to John Key. Key was constantly on the phone to people outside the political beltway. He would spend hours chatting to bank economists, company CEOs and others to get their read on the economy, the country etc. It is part of what made him successful is that he was in touch with people whose jobs are not full-time politics.

The fact Hipkins has no one at all outside the political elite that he talks to, is a weakness for him. He has pretty good natural instincts, but only listening to those in the political elite risks you getting a one sided view of the country.