Where to next for Key?

man for the past decade, Bill English. Key told him shortly after returning from New York.

‘‘He said ‘are you absolutely sure?’’ I said yeah. I thought he was the right guy for the job. And I thought a decade at the top was about right.’’

The question everyone has been asking is why. But Key has dropped plenty of hints over the years.

He revealed in his biography that he had previously considered quitting, after his government became mired in controversy and the tide seemed to be swimming against him.

And, even as Opposition leader, he made no secret of his preference to choose the timing of his retirement, rather than wait for voters to fall out of love first.

There were other, more recent signs.

For months now, the famously self-deprecating Key has been joking that the public has fallen out of love with him – that the selfie queues are shorter.

But even more recently he has seemed tired and slightly reckless. Normally, on his overseas trips with the media, he mixes and mingles, coming down the back of his VIP Airforce 757 to chat and share a drink, or inviting some media up the front for one-on-one interviews.

But on his recent trip to Apec in Peru, there was none of that. Much of the time, the first-class section was blacked out for sleep, and his press secretary apologised later for the lack of post-Apec interviews on the way home, blaming tiredness.

At the Pacific Islands Forum in Pohnpei, Key and his office organised a barbecue to watch the All Black’s test against Argentina.

In Lima, he politely brushed aside a suggestion of a Kiwi-inc viewing of the All Blacks-Ireland game.

There was also an extra edge to his normally direct style. That included warning the incoming Trump administration in the United States that China would fill the geo-political ‘‘void’’ if it backed away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

He also delivered a polite ‘‘shirtfronting’’ to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg that his socialmedia empire had a perception problem over paying enough tax.

Back home, Key risked accusations of hypocrisy, rubbishing Treasury’s short and long-term forecasting ability, but then using its medium-term surplus tips to talk up his ability to deliver tax cuts and extra spending.

And then there was the final act of the ‘‘smiling assassin’’ – throwing Mt Roskill candidate Parmjeet Parmar under a bus just the day before the by-election. But, as Key said at his final post-cabinet press conference, he had knifed others, now he was knifing himself.

His announcement has shattered National’s complacency and will give Labour a second wind. But after anointing English as his successor, Key will have to tackle something new, staying ‘‘under the radar’’.

He and Bronagh will leave for Hawaii almost immediately after next week’s leadership vote, giving his successor ‘‘clear air’’.

And the plan after that, says Key, is to ‘‘keep a very low profile’’.

‘‘I’ll be very low key, excuse the pun.’’ With Prime Minister John Key stepping down, all eyes will be on what he does next.

He’s already ruled out leaving the country – after being prime minister of New Zealand for eight years, Key said it wouldn’t make sense to up and leave now.

Auckland is his home and he and wife Bronagh plan to keep living there.

Key said he had no specific plans for life after politics but ruled out seeking any diplomatic postings overseas.

‘‘I’m a commercial guy ... if I get those opportunities offered to me, I’ll go on a couple of boards ... probably do a bit of speaking internationally.’’

He mentioned both Australia and the United States as potential countries where some international board opportunities might arise.

‘‘I’m quite happy to have a life where I’m not in front of the camera – in fact, my aim is to have a life where I’m quite subterraneal (sic) actually going forward.’’

Key has no intention of staying in the spotlight. While he acknowledged that former prime minister Helen Clark left the country to take on a United Nations posting, he said he wouldn’t be seeking a high-profile job overseas.

The plan was to resign from Parliament some time before the 2017 election, but he would avoid a by-election in his Helensville seat.

With his daughter, Stephie, living in France, no doubt Key will have some travel plans in mind and possibly spending a bit more time at his Hawaii pad.

Key’s known for his love of golf and getting around a few more greens would likely be on the agenda – potentially even teeing up a few golfing holidays with outgoing United States President Barack Obama, who he considers a good friend.

He made a point of saying he’d missed out on family occasions he would have liked to have been at, in particular, things ‘‘important to Bronagh’’ which his work prevented him from attending.

The question everyone has been asking is why. But Key has dropped plenty of hints over the years.