Key’s Victory Speech

(No-one has transcribed it? Really?)
Key’s victory speech was poorly delivered and a bit rubbish, but it was also gracious and thoughtful. Using his victory speech to talk at length – at great length! – about his admiration for Helen Clark was astonishing. Pledging to represent all New Zealanders, whether they voted for him or not, was an approach clearly lifted from Obama but positive nonetheless. And making a public outreach to the Maori Party was another un-needed but appreciated move.
There were two moments in his speech that won enormous cheers from the room: “Our collective success rests on the success of individuals”, he said, and “It will be a government that values individual achievement.” These are clear signals of the ethos inside National. There is a lot of meaning in those statements, a lot of politics, clearly understood by those in the room without having to be unpacked. Key has come in with a clear agenda, and it is the same as that of the 90s-era Nat government, the members of which still fill his caucus.
The only restraint is that the voters have not given a mandate for a return to the 90s; as Gordon Campbell suggested, the mandate given John Key is “be not-Helen”. Massive reform should erode voter support, and fast. Many inside the Nats are eager to get on with their 90s-era project while they have their hands on the tiller. Expect big battles inside the National party as the ideologues take on the pragmatists.