Phew, Mr Popular
It was warm smiles and selfies on John Key’s last day of official engagements as prime minister.
Fittingly, that day involved dashing about his home town of Christchurch – cutting ribbons, shaking hands and delivering his perfectly honed brand of blandly soothing dad jokes.
Everyone he encountered at the opening of the new tourist information hub at the Arts Centre greeted him with a smile, from the expatriate Kiwi visiting from Canada to the Irish construction worker who stopped him in the street and the tourist centre staff he posed with for selfies.
After the affectionate chat with the expat, a TV cameraman summed up the vibe of the thing. ‘‘Phew, Mr Popular,’’ he said. Key used his speech at the opening of the tourist centre to pay tribute to his home town, Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, and Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Gerry Brownlee.
‘‘It is really great on a personal level to be in Christchurch for the last full working day I have as PM. You can take the boy out of Christchurch but you can’t take Christchurch out of the boy.
‘‘Despite all of the great tragedies and sacrifices and difficult situations that the people of Christchurch have faced over the last six years, in a small way for me personally it has been wonderful to be able to support the people of Canterbury and put something back as you have gone through that tremendous journey that you have faced.’’
Dalziel was a ‘‘fine leader for Christchurch’’, he said.
‘‘She feels people’s issues really personally, she believes in people and feels their plight. She cares about them a great deal.
‘‘You can see that in what she does. Christchurch needs you and you have a lot of work to do over the next few years so I wanted to acknowledge you.’’
He also had warm words for Brownlee’s handling of the Christchurch recovery.
‘‘You need broad shoulders and great capability and stamina to do that. Most people couldn’t put up with the pressure that creates, but Gerry could.
‘‘In my view, Gerry has done the most outstanding job for the people of Christchurch. He lives and breathes the city. I think if anyone deserves the keys to the city of Christchurch it is Gerry and history will remember you very kindly.’’
Key also visited the justice and emergency services building, which is being built, opened the PwC Centre and ended the day opening the Russley retirement village.
He told reporters his final weekend as prime minister involved going to a friend’s wedding and watching the Joseph Parker fight tonight before ‘‘clearing my office so Bill
can move in’’. He also left Christchurch with one final promise. ‘‘Now that I’m no longer a politician I can go back to my roots and I’m seriously considering dumping my membership of the Blues and going straight back to the Crusaders.’’