Analysis: Political editor Jessica Mutch McKay goes on the road with the two men vying to be Prime Minister and offers a glimpse of how things are going behind the scenes.
It’s hard to muster much enthusiasm after a long early morning ride in the back of a Crown car on a wet day in the Waikato.
Yet National leader Christopher Luxon still bounded out of the car with the enthusiasm of a kid keen for a tractor ride yesterday.
His visit to Giltrap AgriZone in Cambridge this week was well choreographed, with a tour of the work site, a chat to workers and a ride on a big, blue $340,000 tractor, specially chosen and wheeled into the showroom for its colour.
Luxon knows how to do a day on the campaign trail by now and has had that Prime Minister swagger about him over the last few weeks.
But he’s yet to master the art of working a room.
Former Prime Minister John Key might want to give him some tips on how to connect with voters and move on, because Luxon tends to get sucked into the vortex of long chats, often in the corner of the room.
It has become a bit of a running joke with his staff that the worst way to get him out of the room is to say, “We’ve got to go.”
It may be a charming characteristic for a politician to have long chats with members of the public, but it isn’t energy efficient and won’t work with a tight prime ministerial schedule should the cards fall his way after October 14.
Luxon’s energy and performance mode lasted all day yesterday, with visits to Cambridge, Matamata and Huntly, before heading back to Auckland again.
He does better on the road than he does in Wellington and seems more comfortable walking around a town like Huntly than he does on the black and white tiles at Parliament.
A study of opposites?
Considering the bashing Chris Hipkins is getting in the polls of late, he’s still remarkably chipper on the campaign trail.
The media pack crushed into the small corridors of a medical centre in Ōtāhuhu today, hoping for a golden picture of Hipkins getting his blood pressure taken.
Turns out it’s pretty good, considering he’s got an election in a couple of weeks and had three camera operators, a couple of journalists and the Diplomatic Protection Service watching on. The doctor did frown at Hipkins’ sausage roll consumption though.
But this life on the campaign trail is the new normal for the Labour leader right now.
As he walked out of the medical centre today, Hipkins bumped into a group of sisters, all lined up to say hello. He appeared pretty chuffed, and even more so when they said he had their vote.
Hipkins still isn’t a natural with strangers and is not afraid of letting silence linger. He’s happy to listen and doesn’t feel that need to perform for the cameras.
That may be because of the length of time he’s been in politics or perhaps he’s just more comfortable with how he comes across.
As he finished his visit, he walked up to the media with his phone in his hand, which was unusual.
He then proceeded to read a list of mean things David Seymour and Winston Peters have said about each other, obviously trying to demonstrate what Luxon could be dealing with if he enters coalition talks with the pair after the election.
The comments had the feel of general debate on the floor of the debating chamber, not in a medical centre foyer in South Auckland.
A lot has been made about the similarities between Chris and Chris after the first 1News Leaders’ Debate.
But one difference is that Chris Hipkins thrives in the theatre of the political world. Chris Luxon would rather be out and about.
To be a good prime minister, you must be comfortable in both worlds.
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