It is never particularly becoming to have someone who has accepted a position or office, and all that comes with it, then appear to bemoan the negative aspects of the role.
Not that that is what Prime Minister John Key was doing yesterday when he took a swipe at whathe described as "hostile" media. No, he was at pains to insist he didn't care about the newly aggressive approach taken by various media, especially the New Zealand Herald and television news.
But, sadly, that's a fact of life when you are in public service. Anyone who stands for office must surely know they will be put under the microscope and the scrutiny can, and does, get intense. That is, after all, part of the role of the news media: to hold our public officials to account on behalf of readers and viewers.
And he has never been averse to using the media to his own end - how else did he air his latest grievance?
Mr Key certainly cannot have too much to complain about with his introduction to politics, and his honeymoon period since becoming Prime Minister has been lengthy. That may have been partly because of a weakened Opposition failing to gain traction.
That makes it all the more surprising that he would react as he did yesterday on Newstalk ZB. He may well have a right to complain about coverage of the John Banks/Kim Dotcom affair or repeated investigations into the SkyCity conference centre deal as examples.
But then again, he had the power to shut these issues down. And maybe the public have a need and desire to know more.
Politics is all about public perception, as Mr Key well knows, and as much as he may be right about this latest turn of events he must be mindful that by drawing attention to it people's perceptions of him as a strong, competent, decisive leader aren't damaged by what some may see as a petulant outburst.
