Summarised by Centrist

Public sector downsizing and ambitious targets set for various sectors makes for more than a passing resemblance between Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s leadership style and the policy targets reminiscent of former Prime Minister John Key’s tenure. A major difference seems to be that people actually liked Key. 

Luxon’s adoption of Key-era policies like “social investment” and “government targets” prompt comparisons with the Key government’s cautious managerial style albeit with differences in timing and context. 

“If you want to predict what the present government will do, then perhaps just revisit the Key years and you’ll find an answer,” says political commentator Grant Duncan. 

Some of those shared targets include reducing welfare dependency and crime. However, where the Key government began with downsizing and followed up with policy targets in its second term, Luxon’s administration is pursuing both simultaneously. 

Duncan chides Luxon for his somewhat stiff and inauthentic public persona, citing instances where he appears scripted. 

But Luxon’s imitation of Key, minus his popularity, may be part of a trend according to Duncan. He says that not only in New Zealand, but around the western world, many political leaders currently have net negative favourability. 

Read more over at Politics Happens

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