John MacDonald: I thought we were over celebrity politicians
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Paul Henry is everything Christopher Luxon isn't. He’s everything Chris Hipkins isn’t. He’s everything his potential new boss, ACT leader David Seymour, isn’t.
Which is why his announcement that he’s standing in this year’s election has taken a lot of people by surprise. And has got some people excited.
But aren’t we over celebrity politicians? I certainly am.
Nevertheless, if there was a political party in New Zealand that Paul Henry might be a good fit for, philosophically, it would be the ACT Party.
But is he a good fit for Parliament? Or is Parliament a good fit for him?
Or, more to the point - is this personality and wit that people are talking about - are they the kinds of things we need in our politicians right now?
I don’t think so.
It’s what the ACT Party needs right now. Because, of the three parties in the current coalition government, it needs a bit of a boost.
And there’s no doubt that Paul Henry’s announcement has put the spotlight on the ACT Party.
But, a lot of the time, publicity doesn’t lead to substance or delivery.
Take Jacinda Ardern, when she became leader of the Labour Party just weeks out from the 2017 election, she was a publicity darling.
She was someone who could spin a good yarn. A great communicator, as they say. But we all got sick of that.
And, as Thomas Coughlan points out in the NZ Herald, Paul Henry’s announcement yesterday was a communications “masterclass”.
Thomas writes: “After a brief introduction from Seymour, Henry gave probably one of the best ‘new job’ press conferences since Dame Jacinda Ardern’s famous 2017 effort after becoming Labour leader.”
He does point out, though, that there were some differences.
Yesterday, Paul Henry wasn’t facing the full gallery of political journalists. He didn’t need to defend any policies. And he didn’t have to look like he could credibly be Prime Minister in a matter of weeks.
Nevertheless, he made a good fist of it. Which you would expect from someone who’s been in the public eye for yonks. Who is well used to talking about himself in front of an audience and who has a truckload of experience in the live broadcast environment. Where you have to think on your feet all the time.
No wonder David Seymour and the ACT Party welcomed him with open arms. Because they need him way more than he needs them. And he has said as much.
But I thought, after the Jacinda Ardern experience, that we were over celebrity politicians.
I certainly am. Which is why I can’t get excited about Paul Henry potentially being in Parliament after this year’s election.
Because I don’t care about charisma. All I care about is substance.
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