Muldoon speaks his mind 20 years later
Twenty years after the death of one ofnewzealand’s most divisive and longest-serving primeministers, NEALE MCMILLAN unearthed a recording of one of Sir Robert Muldoon’s final interviews. Herevisitssomeof the wisdom of a not-so-young Turk.
Asked in the twilight of a volatile political career how he would like to be perceived in history, Robert David Muldoon responded, almost casually: ‘‘Frankly, I don’t much care.’’
The date was July 1, 1992; the interview only a month before his death.
The man who served as prime minister from 1975 till 1984 and was either loved or loathed then qualified his remark: ‘‘But I’m deeply interested in New Zealand history – it’s been a hobby since I was about 10 – and that’s why I’ve written all these books to record in my words what happened, rather than have some academic try to work it out in 20 years’ time.’’
Portrayed by some as a complex character, Muldoon saw himself in simpler terms, partly evidenced in his final interview, much of it unpublished, and captured on a rediscovered audio tape.
It reveals an astute yet relaxed Muldoon, not attempting to justify his most controversial policies yet conceding the folly of his abortive payroll tax and the 1984 snap election – ‘‘the silliest thing I ever did’’.
Conversely, he regarded closer economic relations (CER) with Australia and unification of island nations through the South Pacific Forum as his best achievements.
Muldoon was unhesitant in citing National’s longestserving leader Keith Holyoake as the sole politician to influence his approach to the prime ministership.
‘‘It would have been impossible to model myself on Keith because I was a different person, but I learned my politics by sitting at the feet of Keith. . .
‘‘I think he was the most under-rated politician, probably ever, certainly in my time. He had the art of getting the best solution and at the same time keeping the team together.
‘‘And I’ve said many times that if I went out of caucus having opposed Keith on something, and having won the argument, I would go out thinking, ‘Gosh, I wonder if I was right’.
‘‘He always had a copy of the previous election’s policy in the Cabinet room and pulled it out when we were doing something that reflected on policy, and I did the same.’’
Muldoon confirmed his renowned ability to shift paper, explaining: ‘‘You’ve got to be able to look at a piece of paper and, while reading it, decide what you’re going to do with it – and do it.
‘‘I always had an untidy desk with things that hadn’t been done because the information wasn’t yet available to deal with them.
‘‘Otherwise, straight-in straight-out; you’ve got to do it some time so do it now.’’
In the interview, Muldoon revealed problems with stress after assuming the finance portfolio in 1967.
His Karori GP prescribed Librium to no effect and subsequently Valium, which he used for about a month before complaining the drug was making him too drowsy to do his work.
‘‘My GP said, ‘You know it’s all in your mind. See if you can cope with it that way, and when you come home from the office you might have a couple of whiskies to help you relax’.
‘‘So I did, and the moment I got it into my head that stress is in the mind I never suffered from it. As prime minister I had no worries at all because I got it into my head that if I didn’t let myself be affected I wouldn’t be.’’
On socialising: ‘‘I didn’t like it. I don’t know if it was noticeable but I dodged diplomatic functions – meeting the same people every night and talking the same nonsense to them.
‘‘I’m not a social person in that sense. I don’t mind business lunches when you can talk business-type things or economic things, but I’m not very good at cocktail parties.’’
On claims of being arrogant: ‘‘I reject that totally. That term has been used wrongly when we made a decision, announced it, and stuck to it. Firmness perhaps, but it’s not arrogance.
‘‘If you are wishy-washy you’re going to be a washout and if you announce a decision in a half-hearted way that’s not government.’’
On humility: ‘‘I don’t think I’m a humble person, but I’ve never been one to seek or enjoy the limelight and publicity side of office.
‘‘I think [former Labour leader and prime minister David] Lange seemed to like it a bit; but you can’t help being in front of the public if you’re prime minister and I’ve never put much store on the trappings of office.’’
On accusations that he pre-empted cabinet/caucus approval in his announcement of policy decisions: ‘‘That’d be wrong. Keith Holyoake and I always took every decision of consequence to caucus and then to cabinet.
‘‘It’s inevitable in today’s television world that the public sees the prime minister 10 times more than any of his ministers and tends to think he is the government. I don’t think there is any alternative to that.’’
On honesty: ‘‘Never tell a lie. Then when someone misquotes you, you can say ‘I could not have said that because it would have been a lie’. But you have to be prepared at times to say ‘I don’t know’. That’s very difficult for a politician to do.’’
On making hard decisions: ‘‘You’ve got to lead your team to good decisions, tackling the hard decisions but realising that if you get too far away from, or too far ahead of, the public they’ll throw you out.
‘‘So what decision is closest to what the public will be prepared to live with? That’s the hard bit.
‘‘The people content in public policy is absolutely vital and if you alienate too many people it’s no good having the best policies in the world; you’ll be in opposition.
‘‘The ordinary citizen will say ‘Ah, come on, you’re in there to govern’. And he’ll be the same bloke who’ll vote against you if you do it.’’
On social issues: ‘‘I went through the Depression of the 30s as a teenager and we had literally none of the massive offending we’re having today.
‘‘We had unemployment and economic pressures but we didn’t have the marriage break-ups and the offending. We wouldn’t dream of the kind of things that happen now.
‘‘I think a lot of it is the decline in church numbers, that a much higher proportion of the public were actively associated with churches. I’m not looking for easy solutions, saying this is the reason, but I think it’s part of it.’’
On faith and ambition: ‘‘You can’t quantify a thing like that. I think it’s more a question of attitudes.
‘‘You don’t go into politics to make a name for yourself, to become a big public figure and a national hero. Anybody who tries that is stupid.
‘‘You go into politics to give it all you’ve got to try and help people – individually sure, but people as a whole, and I think that comes to some extent from the family background and the religious aspect of it.’’