English not the same man as 15 years ago

Bill English in his first outing as prime minister was everything he wasn’t when he last led the National Party 15 years ago. He was confident. He was straight up. He’s a man who is clearly comfortable in his own skin and confident in his own judgment.

The English we used to know as National Party leader constantly tried to second-guess himself and the media.

He was often all over the place, struggling to find the right way to answer a question, laying his thought processes out to bare. It gave him the appearance of indecisiveness. So what’s changed? English is older. He was a relatively young man in his 30s when he last led National. Leadership of a political party – particularly one as factionalised, as divided and and as moribund as the one he inherited at the time – is not a kind place to a young head.

But English has also had time to prove himself; he has a list of stellar credentials behind him as finance minister. He has made enough good decisions now to know he can back himself.

And, finally, he has learnt from John Key that there is no right or wrong answer in politics – it’s just how you answer that matters. English referred to that in his speech a lot; trust – it’s something his predecessor built with voters.

English’s job now is to establish that same rapport and carry it through to the next election. He already has capital in the bank on that score as finance minister through the past eight years. Yesterday’s speech was the start of building on that.

When asked about the Pike River families and their demand to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones, English said he would listen but make no promises.

‘‘It’s not a political decision. It’s a safety decision,’’ he said.

On superannuation English was also straight up. Key’s promise not to tinker with the pension age was a product of its times, he said – a necessary pledge to rebuild trust with voters. He was going to spend some time thinking about it, English said. But times have changed and he is not bound by Key’s pledge.

As for his views as one of National’s more social conservatives, English was equally forthright. Given the chance again, he would vote differently on gay marriage. He no longer viewed it as an attack on anyone’s marriage.

Both statements are brave for any politician, particularly for a man who has just stepped into the shoes of one of our most popular prime ministers ever.

Of course it is just day one – a brief honeymoon before the tough decisions and hard questions come thick and fast. Those will come this week when he reshuffles Cabinet. He is walking a tightrope between stability and continuity, and a need for change.

Bill English, literature graduate, was ion the spotlight at his first press conference as prime minister when he quoted a poem by Selina Tusitala Marsh that he had heard at a women’s leadership forum. ‘‘She said ‘lead and dig up the diamonds around you’,’’ English said. But it seems that was a slight misquote. The actual line from her poem Lead is: ‘‘Lead by digging up diamonds in those around you.’’ For future reference, the next line is: ‘‘Lead when you scale the heights, then plummet to ground zero.’’