Of courts and courtiers
Fran O’Sullivan writes on how Bill English is seeking to enlist some academic economists to work with Treasury staff to develop some blue sky thinking on how the future might look.
In the article she discusses as well the failure of the Key administration to progress ideas from the Jobs Summit and refers to the topic of Weldon capture. An implication perhaps that she thinks Key may listen too much to Mark Weldon. She contrasts English’s approach with what she terms the ‘kitchen cabinet’ of thrusters around John Key.
Rightly or wrongly Adam came away with the thought that O’Sullivan was floating the idea that there might be two political courts – one around Key and the other around English. Only time will tell.
O’Sullivan makes a number of other points such as that unless Key appoints someone in his office to drive through output from the Jobs Summit it will be derided as the Knowledge Wave was.
She notes that Rob Fyfe and Helen Kelly are both said to be somewhat disappointed with progress and the content of the Budget. One wonders is she has had some non-attributable briefings. O’Sullivan writes:-
Kelly and Fyfe co-chaired the summit work session on core workplace and employment issues that developed the nine-day fortnight.
The CTU boss has extended considerable goodwill to the Key Government which could be jeopardised if she comes to believe that she was invited simply as window-dressing.
Top business people also have only so much time to devote to big Government-sponsored showcase events like the Clark regime’s Catching the Knowledge Wave and the Job Summit.
Unless business people who have put up their hands to do some ongoing work are properly enlisted, the event will soon be stigmatized as subject to Weldon-capture.
Definitely not pro-Weldon, but a sound overall point though.
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