Is media giving Peters a fair go?

Winston Peters says it will be ‘‘business as usual’’ while he stands in for Jacinda Ardern for the next six weeks. That was always going to be a big ask. Peters and Ardern are yin and yang, chalk and cheese. Ardern is the young, open, empathetic, progressive face of this Government; Peters is the scowling backdrop – the conservative, populist, traditionalist who plays to the punters in talk-back land.

He also has a pre-Trumpian Trump-like relationship with the media – combative, testy and often angry. It is his schtick. The punters cheer him on, loving that he gets one over the journalists. Television, in particular, has always lapped it up.

But for the next six weeks, whatever face Peters puts on for the day will be the face of this Government.

In New Zealand, the media have a level of access to their politicians that journalists in most other countries marvel at. The prime minster does a round of media interviews most mornings, a daily – or even twice daily – standup either at Parliament or when they are on the road, and the weekly post-Cabinet press conference can be a 40-minute grilling.

It is a double-edged sword; the prime minister gets to front-foot and shape the agenda most days, but he or she is exposed to relentless media scrutiny.

The 24/7 news cycle also means the public sees and hears them everywhere. Arguably, that could shorten the lifespan of governments, though that did not seem to be the case for the last National and Labour governments.

But it means that the public increasingly shapes its perceptions of a government through its feelings about the prime minister.

And what works for the leader of a minor party doesn’t work for the office of prime minister.

So credit where credit is due. Since stepping into Ardern’s shoes, Peters has clearly been trying to put on his best face – obviously conscious that ‘‘angry Peters’’ is not a good fit with a Government still in its supposed honeymoon period.

At the prime minister’s weekly post-Cabinet press conference he jousted with journalists, but without the usual sting. You could even describe him as mellow.

So did Peters deserve better than the treatment he got from Newshub over his so-called nonappearance on Duncan Garner’s AM Show?

Probably – and I say this as someone who has been excoriated by Peters over the years, and who is uncomfortable about going into bat for him. Uncomfortable because Peters often uses vitriol and obfuscation to duck questions.

But his treatment by the AM Show looks shabby. Peters was ‘‘fired’’ as unreliable by Garner from the weekly prime minister’s slot, apparently because he was three minutes late for the show.

The prime minister’s office has put its hand up for the mix-up, saying it gave Peters the wrong time. Regardless, the show refused to go to air with Peters after he turned up, even when it knew he was standing by.

But I’m told it is nothing unusual for politicians to be kept waiting by TV studio bosses. Even Ardern, apparently, has had to cool her heels till her TV hosts are ready to talk to her.

Politicians often bring it on themselves, of course. Some of them would climb over their grandmothers for a soundbite on the 6pm news.

But given what else a prime minister has on their plate every day – even an acting one – they should be allowed to be three minutes late.