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Winston Peters - Source: Q+A -
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Television has its strengths and of course it limitations. One of its greatest assets is that it gives you 'moments'; a sudden revelation, a slip of the tongue, a facial expression or an impetuous outburst that remains in your mind long after the grist has been forgotten.
We had one of those on Q A on Sunday, when Guyon Espiner interviewed Winston Peters. It was a telling two seconds that has had me re-thinking my gut feeling that New Zealand First will return to Parliament after this year's election.
I've been of the mind that Peters will squeak back in. Why? Mostly because there's a space in the political marketplace for his kind of politics worth at least five percent of the vote.
He will give voice to those suffering at the (invisible) hands of our stalled economy. He will be an effective government critic, especially on asset sales and foreign investment. His memory and vocabulary are powerful weapons.
And, in contrast, he will benefit from that fact that most New Zealanders will have forgotten about the murk of scandal that hung around him just three years ago.
Even with the Owen Glenn funding allegations fresh in people's minds and an ascendant John Key putting the boot, in he was able to win 4.6 percent of the vote in 2008. So you'd think that three years of memory loss and economic woe would be enough for him to salvage another half percent.
This year, however, has not been kind to him. The earthquakes in particular have changed the mood of the country in ways we still don't entirely comprehend. There's a wariness abroad in the land; a sense that things have changed.
Which makes me wonder whether Peters is now a man out of time; a face that no longer fits.
Espiner's interview with Peters was something, as Jane Clifton has aptly written in the Dom Post, which could have been scripted by Lewis Carroll. Peters was in a Humpty Dumpty mood, redefining words to suit himself.
Hammering
In particular, Espiner pointed out that while Peters is currently hammering the government on partial state asset sales, in 2008 he had wanted to sell shares in KiwiBank. No, no, Peters insisted, "We were not selling shares in Kiwibank; we were expanding the shareholding base to get you the extra capital."
Which is a bit like saying, I don't like peanut butter, I prefer a manufactured peanut-based breakfast spread often used in the toasting process.
Peters also denied that New Zealand First's policy is to cut GST to 10 percent, despite that promise being on the party's website. Peters insisted "Our policy has always been GST at 12.5% maximum". Which does not rule out 10 percent GST, but never mind.
Espiner asked whether someone had hacked into the party's website, but Peters explained it was simply an error, written by "someone who's not authorised to say that, because that is not our policy, never has been".
It was like trying to put a pin in a cloud, only to find that the cloud isn't a cloud but a visible mass of particles of condensed vapour suspended in the atmosphere. Don't even begin to ask me what the pin is.
But what about that 'moment'? It came right at the end of the interview. Our scripted introduction had asked if Peters was still relevant. The politician must have been mulling unhappily on the question throughout the interview and clearly didn't like even the suggestion of being past his best before date.
So after Espiner thanked him for his time, Peters replied, "thank you. We're still relevant."
This former Treasurer and Foreign Minister, the bane of Jim Bolger and Jenny Shipley, anti-Asian agitator and parliamentary king-maker suddenly looked desperate. It felt pleading.
If you're relevant, you don't have to say so. Indeed, if you are compelled to insist upon your relevance, somewhere in your subconscious you must be having doubts.
That moment was one that stuck, because it looked as if Peters was stuck in a moment that had passed.
No, I'm not ruling him out. Peters is a chameleon politician who has played the phoenix before.
The appetite for his politics remains, so the comeback I'd been expecting is still entirely possible. But does he have the heart and the conviction? For the first time I have my doubts. And it seems, so does he.
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