Editorial: Conduct unbefitting PM role

Prime Minister John Key has to realise that things that brushed off easily in the past will now begin to stick, writes Andrew Austin. Photo / Andrew Warner

There is no doubt Prime Minister John Key is regretting ever having pulled waitress Amanda Bailey's ponytail.

Sure, he has apologised and there is no doubt his opponents have used it as an opportunity to stick it to him, but the fact of the matter is that he should not have done what he did.

No prime minister or president should ever find him or herself in such a situation.

When first heard, the story sounds unbelievable because it is quite juvenile for our top politician to be joking around in this manner.

Part of Mr Key's appeal has been that he is an everyday bloke. His laid-back, relaxed style was probably part of the reason his party was re-elected for a third term. There is no doubt that many people voted for John Key more than they voted for the National Party.

But, Mr Key has let himself down by showing an astounding lack of judgement. There have been suggestions this could be the beginning of third-term-itis setting in. This is the phenomenon where a government in its third term becomes complacent and even arrogant and starts unravelling a bit. Transgressions that the public forgave in the first term and ignored in the second term, now start irritating voters.

It happened to Helen Clark and the last Labour government when they tried to introduce crazy legislation like regulating showerhead flows.

Mr Key has to realise that things that brushed off easily in the past will now begin to stick as we approach the next election.

While I certainly think calls for, as a colleague put it, "Key to be thrown away for playing with her locks" are over the top, attempts to dismiss this as a storm in a teacup are also wrong.

We have the right to expect our prime minister to set a high standard of appropriate behaviour.