Slick and disciplined strategy for 2019

She’s a class act. Looking across the Tasman from a country that knows the power of a charismatic leader – the Australian Liberal Party were mad not to select Julie Bishop as their replacement after Malcolm Turnbull.

She stood next to National Party leader Simon Bridges singing his party’s praises at the annual caucus strategy retreat.

He would have been hoping some of that cult of personality rubs off on him.

Bridges’ leadership is in a far more secure place than it was toward the end of last year.

But even he would admit he doesn’t hold the star power of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

So why not borrow a little from someone who does?

Bishop can certainly match it.

Australia’s former minister for foreign affairs was the guest of honour, there to impart some of her wisdom on current trends of Centre Right political parties across the globe.

And it was a coup for the Nats. Some were barely containing their excitement before her arrival.

Indeed, the tenor of the entire caucus has lifted from where it had been in previous months.

This time last year Bill English was still leading the party and hadn’t indicated he was stepping down but questions over leadership were swirling.

The question of ‘‘how to deal with Winston’’ was an added layer of confusion to the existential soul-searching many Nats were navigating at the time while they adjusted to life on the Opposition benches.

And at the end of last year Bridges and team had suffered a blistering assault from within their own ranks when Jami-lee Ross began a white-anting campaign that quickly morphed into a public barrage of verbal insults. It featured so-far unsubstantiated allegations of corruption and drip-feeding of secret recordings against his former colleagues.

Bridges was facing heavy criticism for his handling of the incident from the moment he called an inquiry into the leaks, which as good as ferreted Ross out.

The spectre of that controversy still hangs in the background as Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie made her first appearance since Ross revealed police were investigating an anonymous complaint into a text sent to Ross from her phone.

She refused to comment – as did Bridges and every other member in the National Party machine – like a group of transformers combined to make one robot, replete with a single set of lines recorded when you press the button.

Ross may have done the party a favour in that respect.

They are more of a unit than ever, having healed the wounds of the past two years. Tough cauterisation though. The party has lost none of its discipline under Bridges and may have even increased its focus and determination in the past year.

As it sets itself a massive policy task – effectively trying to do the development and consultation work of a small public department, with the limited resources afforded to the Opposition bench – MPS will need that determination to hold.

In an attempt to position itself in stark contrast to Labour, every part of that combined unit has to look diligent, informed and ready to lead without the formation of a working group – or at least not 150 of them.

The promise of no less than eight policy discussion documents on major issues like the environment, health, law and order, and the economy, is intended to reinforce ‘‘competence’’.

That comes off the back of a largely successful income tax announcement from Bridges a week ago.

Ardern has branded 2019 as the year of ‘‘delivery’’ as the Government’s bills start to roll in. They’ve written some big cheques and they can’t defer payment any longer.

But Kiwibuild is starting to fray around the edges, controversial tax changes are threatening to spark a fire and industrial relations changes already have businesses crying foul.

Not even the economy has played ball for the Government this week, with a relatively surprising rise in unemployment that could signal a more general softening of the markets.

This year will test how well Ardern can hold her Government together in the face immense pressure.

National is no doubt starting how it means to finish.

But plans go quickly awry in politics and the stage is well and truly set for another saga, when the MPS return to Parliament next week.