‘I’ve been a very great Prime Minister and I’m proud of that.’
I think Clark was a very, very good Prime Minister, but her massive ego and unshakable faith in her own historical awesomeness is one of the main reasons she was not a great one.
If this seems harsh then I guess it’s because the endless, pointless debacles of her third term government are still fresh in my mind – and most of them seemed to be driven by Clark’s belief in her own infallibility and her parties blind worship of same.
A valedictory speech for a politician like Clark is obviously a time to celebrate an impressive career, but in the wake of a devastating loss it’s also, one would have thought a time for self-deprecation and also an opportunity, a chance to signal to the party and the public that mistakes were made, lessons were learned, a corner has been turned, the torch passed to a new leadership etc. But not a flicker of self-reproof seems to trouble Clark’s astonishing mind: the public rejected her for reasons that remain mysterious but are probably to do with their own fickleness and stupidity, and also Crosby-Textor.
Just a question but are you quoting from her valedictory? Reading the full text of her speech (I haven’t heard it yet so I could be wrong) she never said that…
Comment by jumpingonabandwagon — April 9, 2009 @ 8:50 am
Look at the title of the post.
Comment by danylmc — April 9, 2009 @ 9:13 am
right, must be too early in the morning for me!
Comment by jumpingonabandwagon — April 9, 2009 @ 9:23 am
I agree – she’s certainly one of the best in my lifetime, but I don’t think she’s “Helen the Great” as some seem to want to call her. None of the punitive measures of Rogernomics were turned back, benefits were left low, at ruth Richardson’s setting, and the 3rd term was a mess with Winston et al.
On the plus side, in the first 2 terms you knew what you were getting, they stayed focussed and tried very hard to be up front, and set about achieving the goals they’d mentioned in their manifesto.
An A- overall, not an A+.
Comment by Michael Stevens — April 9, 2009 @ 9:31 am
I’d argue that Clark is the best Prime Minister of my life time, and that her government moved policies through at the speed that the house allowed, to the degree the house allowed.
Also, as a tribute to her character, the level of personal attack Clark and her husband faced was just unbelieveable. For example, her marriage was questioned publically, even by Dr Brash, a noted expert on marriage. I know no other Prime Minister that had to put up with that.
Clark has an ego and confidence in her ability. Well, if she didn’t have that, she wouldn’t have gotten the job. And I don’t think her confidence in her ability is misplaced, she knows how to do the hard yards to get the job done. Her work ethic is undeniable.
The New Zealand public has just come to expect this as normal in a Prime Minister, and this dims our understanding of Clarks achievements.
Comment by Sean — April 9, 2009 @ 10:28 am
Shorter Comments
“She should have quit after 2 terms”
Comment by Clunking Fist — April 9, 2009 @ 12:40 pm
Don Brash threw her off her game, and she never recovered. Hopefully she’ll get back in the zone at the UN.
Comment by vibenna — April 9, 2009 @ 1:46 pm
Sean you’re right about the level of abuse she and her husband had to suffer – that was appaling.
Comment by Michael Stevens — April 9, 2009 @ 5:03 pm
Clark was possibly one of the worst PM’s this country has ever had, although she was Nu Zaylands first retrospectively validated PM.
Comment by burt — April 11, 2009 @ 4:42 pm
Oh please Burt, tell us why you think that! I bet your reasons for holding this view are truly spectacular.
Comment by Guy Smiley — April 11, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
Helen projected warmth and humanity but was a formidable politician well versed (apparently) in Sun Tzu & Machiavelli
Comment by ropata — April 11, 2009 @ 11:56 pm
the level of personal attack Clark and her husband faced was just unbelieveable.
Obviously we’ll never know how many successful, qualified New Zealanders wanted to go into politics but had their partner/kids veto it when they saw what Peter Davis went through – I’m pretty sure it’s a non-zero number.
Comment by danylmc — April 12, 2009 @ 6:26 am
Didn’t Jim Bolger’s wife feel some heat? The public’s got form for this…
Comment by Clunking Fist — April 12, 2009 @ 6:08 pm