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Commentary
One of the most interesting aspects of Jacinda Ardern’s second cabinet is the method by which it was selected, something that reinforces how Ardern has become the most powerful Labor prime minister since Michael Joseph Savage in 1938, says Peter Dunne.
Labor practice has always been for the Cabinet to be elected by the Party Caucus, with the allocation of portfolios, the appointment of Ministers outside the Cabinet and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries, the subsequent responsibility of the Prime Minister.
The only times that provision was modified were in 1935 and 1938, when in appreciation of his role in winning the electoral victory, the then Labor Caucus agreed that Michael Joseph Savage should elect his own cabinet. However, that so infuriated John A. Lee (who was bypassed by the Cabinet both times) that his small faction started the Caucus revolt that led to Lee’s expulsion from the Party in March 1940, just two days. before Savage’s death from cancer. Since then, the Labor Caucuses have always insisted on their right to elect the Cabinet when they are in government.
So far, it seems. Instead of the Caucus selecting Cabinet members and then the Prime Minister assigning portfolio responsibilities, as was the norm in the last 10 times a Labor Cabinet was formed, the process has been reversed this time. It appears that the Prime Minister presented a full package of names paired with positions to the Caucus for endorsement.
While the opportunity existed for other names to be nominated, the reality was that given the magnitude of the Labor victory and the entirety of the Prime Minister’s control over her Caucus, this was never going to be a serious option.
Technically, of course, the Cabinet was chosen by the Caucus, but unlike any of her Labor predecessors, the Prime Minister absolutely has the Cabinet of her choice. Actually, this is not a bad thing, as one of the flaws in traditional Labor practice has been the selection by the Ministers’ Caucus not favored by the leadership. Then those ministers had to clumsily adapt to the Ministry, where they could be sources of difficulties in the future.
All of this confirms that in order to achieve the first one-party majority government under the MMP, Jacinda Ardern has become the most powerful Labor Prime Minister since Savage in 1938. This new cabinet is blatantly hers and her successes over the next three years will reflect straight from her. judgment and leadership. Conversely, of course, so will your failures.
Overall, the Cabinet is a careful and somewhat predictable selection, building on the strengths that some Labor Ministers have demonstrated over the past three years and overlooking the weaknesses and failures of others. It’s the usual mix of interesting newcomers, a surprise ministerial assignment or two, and a few winners and losers. And likewise it typically closes the door to the promotion of some of those who have overlooked this time, and who will now realize that they may not have a chance in the future.
The elevation of Ministers Peeni Henare and Willie Jackson from outside the cabinet to the full cabinet and the promotion of whip boss Michael Wood was largely expected, as was the appointment of newcomer Kiri Allan.
It had been speculated that Dr. Ayesha Verrall could be appointed Minister despite having no previous parliamentary experience, but a lot of relevant health experience, although the general assumption was that she was more likely to be as a Minister outside of Cabinet than in Cabinet same. . It will need to be handled with care, in the House in particular, while finding your parliamentary footing, so that you can effectively use your broader professional skills, without becoming too easy an early target for the Opposition.
Much has been made of the appointment of Nanaia Mahuta as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Over the years that she has been Minister of Local Government, she has built a quiet but constant reputation for establishing good relationships and earning the trust of the sector, skills that are essential in a good Foreign Minister. Furthermore, your ethnicity will be an important factor that will allow you to project a distinctly New Zealand personality in international relations, something that will be extremely important as the nature of our relationships inevitably changes in the post-Covid-19 world.
Aside from the ministerial newcomers, the big winner in the new cabinet appears to be Poto Williams, who has gone from being a minister outside the cabinet to occupying the 10th position in the cabinet itself, occupying the portfolios of police minister and deputy minister. from childhood. Among others. Given his extensive career in community development and family violence prevention, it can be expected that he will focus the work of the Police more acutely on its role in preventing family violence, working closely with the Minister of Public Affairs. Greens, Marama Davidson, in her new role as Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence. Its elevation is also an indication that the government intends to focus heavily on this area during the next term.
Another winner, albeit a much smaller one, has to be David Clark, who returned, albeit outside the cabinet door, after being virtually forced to resign for his terrible handling of Covid-19 when he was Minister of Health.
While his new responsibilities are far less burdensome at first glance, his new role as Minister for Digital Economy and Communications is extremely important, given New Zealand’s position as one of the most digitally advanced governments in the world. It is very possible that he is much more suitable for this role than he appeared to be for the Health portfolio.
Another winner is Meka Whaitiri, who will be relieved to return to her old roles after she was retired over complaints of staff harassment a couple of years ago.
But as with all Cabinet appointments, there are the inevitable losers. There will be those who feel upset that they did not get the portfolio they have coveted so much or remain lower in the Cabinet ranking than they think they deserve.
In this shakeup, the big losers are Phil Twyford and Jenny Salesa.
Phil Twyford has gone from number five in the previous Cabinet to being removed entirely from the Cabinet this time around. He is now the second-lowest-ranking minister outside the cabinet. It has lost its important Economic Development and Transportation portfolios in favor of the comparatively minor role of Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control. While his dismal performance at Kiwibuild and Auckland Light Rail did not justify his retention as minister, it would have been kinder if the prime minister had left him entirely, rather than retain him in his new almost non-role, where he will be an ongoing point of mockery. of the opposition.
The other big loser is Jenny Salesa, who has been completely lost, having been 15th in the previous Cabinet. Her upcoming nomination as one of the two vice presidents of Parliament is not compensation for losing a ministerial post.
She appears to have borne the brunt of criticism for the failure of the Government’s housing policy, although her role as Minister of Building and Construction was always secondary to that of Ministers Twyford and, later, Woods. There is a clear sense that there is more to this degradation than has been admitted so far.
In all likelihood, and barring unforeseen accidents along the way, this Cabinet will reorganize itself in approximately eighteen months to two years, when its strengths and weaknesses have become obvious. Furthermore, some of the pre-2020 Labor MPs who have not yet impressed enough to deserve a promotion so far may have pushed their demands harder by then and impressive new talent may have emerged among the 2020 candidates. Some ministers they may have indicated their intention to withdraw at the end of the term, leaving the opportunity for new faces to present themselves to the public before the next election.
The Prime Minister has successfully completed the main task of assembling the Cabinet she wanted. Now you just have to make it work effectively. That will be the much bigger challenge.
