John Key, New Zealand’s centre-right PM since 2008, stunned his country recently by announcing his resignation. He said that he had “nothing left in the tank” and that political leaders “tend to stay too long”. There was speculation that his wife, Bronagh, had urged him to quit for the sake of their family life; however, he denied that she had given him an ultimatum. Key, 55, a former banker and self-made millionaire, said he had never intended to be a “career politician” and had no idea what he would do next. (Wellington, New Zealand)
Can we look forward to similar moves by Trump and the American multi-millionaires, appointed by him to run huge, sprawling government bureaucracies for which they have neither patience or training? Will they quickly end up realising that “they have nothing left in the tank”? Unfortunately, the reality is that it is quite quick and easy to wreck good government programs, but let us hope none of these characters hang on and do it for long. Three weeks would be a suitable tenure. It probably takes that long to find out where the coffee machine is.
A happy, calm, moderate and Epicurean Christmas to you!
I second your hope that New Zealand inspires others. It’s comforting, even if not realistic, to think it possible that Trump would have a Damascus moment , that he mights be downed by a blast of humility and self-knowledge. Congratulations, Mr. Hanrott, on curating a sane, informative, inspiring blog. Happy Holiday season to you and Mrs. H.