“Politics is the
cruellest of careers. Those elected to its highest office must endure constant
criticism for as long as they retain the
country’s confidence and can expect to be regarded at best with public
indifference once their time has passed.
This book aims to illuminate the life and politics of a Prime Minister at the
height of his power.
It might have been
possible to tell the story without his co-operation but it would have lacked
his voice and struggled to reflect
his personality. The book appears in an election year, a timing of obvious risk
for Key. When I sought his
co-operation it was on the understanding that this would not be an ‘authorised’
biography. At no stage was he
offered, nor did he seek, an opportunity to see the finished text or any part
of it before publication.
All unattributed
views and conclusions are mine. – John Roughan’s author’s note
John
Key. The smiling Prime Minister who can be ruthless, the dollar dealer who rose
from political obscurity to New
Zealand’s highest office faster than any prime minister of our times. In his
sixth year of power his popularity is
unrivalled. But who is John Key? What makes him tick?
John Key: Portrait of a Prime Minister is the first major analysis of one of New Zealand’s most popular and influential
leaders, and a timely one, as Key and his party campaign for a third term in
Parliament. Seasoned political
journalist John Roughan had extensive access to John Key, his family and
closest advisors, in the research and
writing of his unauthorised book. The result is that much of John Key’s story
comes from the man himself,in
extended quotes that run throughout the book.
John
Roughan’s portrait of John Key the man and politician is an intimate,
insightful and balanced study, and one that
asks many searching questions, including: how John Key’s humble childhood
shaped him; what motivated him to
become Prime Minister; why did he turn his back on a highly-successful career
as a global forex trader; what
impact have the many major political and national events had on John Key, his
family and party; and why it came
to a point when he and his wife Bronagh discussed whether he should carry on.
John
Key’s early life was rather unorthodox for the future leader of the National
Party. Raised in a state house with his
two sisters by a Jewish refugee mother – his parents separated when he was
young – John Key’s roots are
undeniably working class. His mother placed great importance on hard work,
education and the discussion of world
events. John Roughan believes that John Key’s political views were formed by
those early years and that his
political decisions fit within the context of his life story. Startlingly, he
reveals John Key to be a man little interested
in history – either personal or political.
John
Key’s two terms as Prime Minister have required every ounce of his financial
and political nous. His tenure has been characterised by
consistently high approval ratings and robust polling, despite the impact of
the global financial crisis; the Canterbury earthquakes and
rebuild; the Pike River Mine disaster; partial asset sales; and controversy
surrounding the so-called ‘teapot’ tape and the arrest
of Kim
Dotcom. How has John Key’s leadership not only endured but thrived during this
time?
John
Key’s confidence, instinct and will to win have served him well throughout his
lifetime, and there are strong signs that he will serve
another term as New Zealand’s Prime Minister. John Key: Portrait of a Prime Minister provides new insights into what drives our
Prime Minister, examining his thoughts and aspirations. John Roughan pays close
attention to his rapid political rise and assesses
John Key’s
performance in power to date. He also describes the ease with which John Key
moves on the world stage, recounting how he
came to play that round of golf with President Obama, and spend a weekend at
Balmoral Castle with the Royal Family.
John Roughan is a journalist who has been observing and
writing on New Zealand politics for the past 40 years. Born in Southland and
educated in Christchurch, he graduated from Canterbury University with a degree
in History and a diploma in Journalism.
He began
his newspaper career on the former Auckland
Star newspaper before travelling extensively, working on
newspapers in Japan
and the United Kingdom at the time of the election of Margaret Thatcher.
On his
return, he joined the New Zealand
Herald and was posted to the Parliamentary Press Gallery
in Wellington in 1983. There he
covered the dramatic final years of the Muldoon era and the beginning of the
Lange-Douglas Government’s rapid reforms of the New
Zealand economy. In 1988 he became the New Zealand Herald’s chief
editorial writer and in 1996 he was invited to write a
weekly column which continues to appear in the Weekend Herald.
JOHN KEY: PORTRAIT OF A PRIME MINISTER RRP $38.00 | PENGUIN
GROUP (NZ)
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