Davis tears up in TV interview
Labour deputy leader Kelvin Davis has the backing of the prime minister to remain in his role going forward.
Davis became emotional on television when speaking about how he wanted to make a difference for Ma¯ ori and also said he was not ‘‘precious’’ about his deputy position.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, after the interview had aired, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would not consider replacing him and he would remain deputy leader into the 2020 election.
Ardern said he was absolutely committed to the role.
‘‘What you’re hearing is a politician who doesn’t have any ego.
‘‘He’s in politics for all the right reasons and that makes him incredibly good at what he does.
‘‘He represents people well and he supports me as deputy leader really well. I’m incredibly grateful for the role he plays.’’
Despite the criticism he received as acting prime minister, he had always done a good job, she said.
He sat within the caucus playing a support role, providing pastoral care for team members, she said. Being in the House was never easy but it was only a tiny part of his job and he had always done it robustly for her, she said.
During the candid TV interview, where Davis broke down in tears, he was asked about his time as acting prime minister in November 2017, when his performance came under fire.
The Marae programme asked if he wanted to stay on as deputy and become the acting PM again.
‘‘If somebody else came along and they said hey, this [is the person] we want to be the acting leader, I’d say hey, go for it ... I’m just not precious about that position. I want to be a minister, I want to continue to do well in the roles that I have.’’