Overseas, Jacinda is still seen as some kind of Madonna… one who bore a child, donned a hijab and hugged a few people… but no one seems to understand that this is all pretty basic stuff. Anyone can do that. Jacinda is naturally empathetic, but that does not make her a great leader, any more than Greta Thunberg’s belief that she can see carbon dioxide makes her a climate change expert. Darling Greta needs to go back to school, and darling Jacinda needs to focus on the job we all pay her very handsomely for.
Mike Hosking is onto it.
The rumours are rife that our Prime Minister is actually in the country this week and looking to attend to domestic matters – and she’s got a bit on her plate.
And because Jacinda Ardern’s plate is getting more and more full, what you are seeing increasingly is the sad reality that a reputation has been formed, and is starting to cement in place. That is of a leader that isn’t exactly hands-on, across the brief, decisive, or omnipresent.
This is a Government that’s drifting.
What did anyone expect from a prime minister who openly stated that she didn’t want the job, and who is clearly totally out of her depth now that she is in it?
The “part-time Prime Minister”, who loves nothing more than to talk, consult, yak, discuss, whiteboard, or blue sky anything but actually make a decision is now facing a real issue with the public. Her personal popularity is significantly down, the gloss is wearing thin, if not off.
Some things she might like to actually address:
 The Ihumātao land occupation she’s insisted on involving herself in, despite her saying over and over it’s got nothing to do with government.
• The public housing crisis. Numbers last week setting another record.
• DHB debt, as of last week it has blown out to hundreds of millions.
• Oranga Tamariki baby snatching allegations and her department under siege.
• Last week’s confidence surveys numbers. Still falling, business at decade-long lows.
• The JobSeeker benefit numbers two weeks back. Once again at record numbers.
• Where is the KiwiBuild reset?
• Where is the National Cancer Agency they promised and yet were beaten to by National last week?
Yep. All fair comment. Today, with her proposed Abortion Bill, she is more interested in killing Kiwis than saving their lives.
Two years in, why is so little actually being done? And given that, isn’t three out of four weeks overseas (having told me she is well aware people don’t like her being out of the country hence she didn’t do a thing about D-Day) isn’t it just about time a few things get ticked off?
I wish I could answer that, Mike, but I think having a completely incompetent government would probably cover it, coupled with a completely incompetent prime minister who is clearly totally out of her depth. Oops… am I being ‘disrespectful’ here?
Reputations are hard won, but easily damaged. She’s damaging hers, she only has so much goodwill. She only has so much fairy dust.
And with a year to a general election, increasing numbers of voters will start to tune in, pay attention, and expect results. Results get votes, so she might want to actually look at a few things in the in-tray.
NEWSTALK ZB
Well Mike, I think the hashtag #parttimePM has gained some traction. You referred to it, and now it is becoming mainstream. No prime minister in recent decades has been accused of anything like it.
Jacinda might be a superhero overseas, but back home, we are starting to see through the facade. But then again, as we all know… fairy dust has a very limited shelf life, and Jacinda has nothing else to offer and I think she knows it. That is why she tries very hard to never be here.