Francesca Rudkin: Did Labour miss a trick in selecting their leader?

On Wednesday morning, after the PREFU release on the Tuesday afternoon, Finance Minister Grant Robertson joined Mike Hosking to talk about the books, the country’s future and his own performance.

As I listened to the conversation, I wondered, has Labour missed a trick here?

Now I know Grant Robertson did not want the job of Prime Minister. He could read the tea leaves and was perhaps also feeling the effects of almost 6 challenging years in power.

But if you listen to the Hosking interview - or the ASB Great Leaders debate, or various podcasts throughout the week - what becomes stark is how in situations when most politicians deflect or ignore a question, Robertson is very good at offering an answer and sounding genuine.

Aside from an uncharacteristic outburst on Heather du Plessis-Allan’s show recently, Robertson gets through his media appearances calmly. He appears to be himself, he speaks naturally and reasonably on topic, has a sense of humour and, if it’s an area he’s not familiar with he lets you know without trying to bluff or avoid the issue.

I can’t help wondering whether Robertson being in the hot seat rather than Hipkins would have Labourites feeling more confident about the election.

Obviously, being able to handle media interviews doesn’t necessarily make you a great Prime Minister, but it is a large part of the job – being able to deliver a message with confidence and trustworthiness.

But Robertson isn’t in charge, and who knows whether the polls would be different if he was. But there’s no doubt - as the Labour party poll drops into the twenties and Luxon and Hipkins are level-ish in the preferred Prime Minister stakes - that some will be wondering ‘what if?’

So that leaves Chippy who, to be fair, is working hard to prove he’s not only In It For Us, but has it covered. The first big test comes on Tuesday in the first televised Leaders Debate. Just under 1.2 million people watched last election, and we knew the characters involved pretty well.

This time we have the veteran and the underdog, as Luxon has cleverly pitched himself. The pressure is on both to perform. One is being judged on his history and the other on his potential, but they’re trying to prove the same thing – their credibility.

I can’t wait – bring it on!

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