Quotes of the Day

At the end of the 1972 film The Candidate, the Robert Redford character asks his campaign manager, "What do we do now?" The implication is that the Senate race winner is weary, disillusioned and in no state to make the transition from rhetoric to reality. John Key has had no such problems. Having led the National Party to an emphatic triumph in New Zealand's Nov. 8 general election, ending nine years of Labour rule under Helen Clark, the former currency trader was pressing for a quick handover so he could attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit in Peru from Nov. 22. The day after Key's National-led government was sworn in, he flew out for APEC, after which he'll head to London for talks with British counterpart Gordon Brown. Before leaving, Key spoke about his first few days in charge and the challenges facing New Zealand and the world.

You seem to have hit the ground running.
Well, time in opposition focuses the mind. Also, the international financial crisis is weighing not only on New Zealanders' minds but on the mind of every leader who's been calling me. It would have been unacceptable for New Zealand not to be represented at the APEC summit.

You go to the Lima meeting as a newcomer on the international stage. How do you think you'll cope?
I'm looking forward to it. With the global economy the main focus, in a sense my previous career as an investment banker puts me in a pretty strong place to understand what's going on and to articulate New Zealand's perspective.

What needs to emerge from the summit in terms of a coordinated response to the crisis?
I think we'll need to show some leadership. The wildcard factor in this economic slowdown is that no one's quite sure how Asia will come through. If it comes through better than people think, then the global slowdown will last for a shorter period than many expect. But there's a lot resting on China, its rescue package and generally on how resistant Asia turns out to be.

What else needs to be addressed at the summit?
Against the backdrop of global recession it's likely that climate change will feel a little less significant in the short term. Keeping that debate going and recognizing the long-term problem is important.

How did you feel about Barack Obama's election win a few days before your own?
I thought it was a particularly moving event and history in the making. It's hard not be excited by the election of Obama, not just for what he has achieved but for what he might achieve as President of the United States. From a global perspective, it was another really important milestone: an African American elected as President. For me, it was another example of change. We'd seen that in Australia with Kevin Rudd, then Obama's election. It certainly helped set the mood for change in New Zealand.

What might Obama achieve as President?
I suspect there'll be a rethink of America's role in the world. You can already see from his early comments that he's starting to focus quite clearly on Osama bin Laden and the position in Afghanistan, and he's clearly indicated that he wants to withdraw from Iraq, though how quickly that can occur remains to be seen. But I think you will see a period of consolidation.

How do you imagine the New Zealand – U.S. relationship might change under your Prime Ministership?
The first thing to note is that the relationship has been steadily improving over the last decade. The Americans, I think, have appreciated a number of things New Zealand has done in recent years, such as our contribution in Afghanistan — we were quite early into Bamiyan province. Secondly, we are showing leadership with Australia in the Pacific, and that's important to America because the U.S. can't cover every base on their own. [U.S. Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice came over to New Zealand [in July] and indicated that New Zealand was an ally. Now, while I don't think she meant "ally" in the traditional sense of the word, it was another clear example of the thawing of the relationship. Top of mind, from our point of view, is a New Zealand – U.S. free-trade agreement. Now, there are a lot of factors there, not least being whether President-elect Obama is willing to entertain that idea.

Under your predecessor, New Zealand was widely seen as a solid global citizen with an independent foreign policy, but also perhaps as a nation content to play a very minor role in world affairs. Do you agree with that characterisation, and do you have a different vision for New Zealand's place in the world?
I'm not sure I would totally agree with that. I think most New Zealanders would have seen Helen Clark's greatest strength, outside her ability to manage in our Mixed Member Proportional system, as being the role she played on the international stage. But there has to be the acknowledgment that, fundamentally, we're a very small country. In one sense, there's a limited sphere of influence. You could see it with the G20 in Washington: Australia was involved, New Zealand wasn't. That said, the view of New Zealand as a small but honest player gives it the ability to punch above its weight from time to time, and I'd continue to want to do that if I can.

When you said in your victory speech that New Zealanders had voted for a "more ambitious" country, what did you mean?
We are 22nd out of 30 countries in the OECD for average income. I think that is grossly inadequate. We're on the edge of Asia, which arguably will be the fastest-growing region in the world for the next decade or two. We've got to be able to do a lot better.

You campaigned as a centrist, but there are many who suspect you'll lurch to the right having won power. What would you say to that and to suggestions that New Zealand's comprehensive welfare system will be pared back on your watch?
Well, I wouldn't agree with that. New Zealanders have quite high expectations of their government. There's very limited appetite for dramatic change in the volume of services provided by the state, though there's quite a strong desire to see a change in the quality of services. Long term, if we drift too far to the right, we'll severely threaten our re-election chances in 2011.

But what's in your heart? Previously, you've sounded like a right-wing ideologue.
My view would be that in the last nine years the Labour government has seen the state as arguably the sole provider of services. In fact, [former Finance Minister] Michael Cullen has given a number of speeches in which he's said it's only the redemptive power of the state that can provide successful outcomes. Well, quite simply, my government wouldn't support that. We do believe in the engagement of the private and NGO sectors and their ability to provide solutions to problems.

Having experienced poverty as a child and turned yourself into a wealthy man, would you say you're someone who'll never lose empathy for the poor or someone who thinks success is within anyone's reach?
Well, I'd like to think more the former than the latter. But you have to go back and ask, how was that change possible in my life? And the answer is that I was blessed to have a mother who understood that education was a liberator and that you get out of life what you put into it. And so one of the things that really concern me is the long tale of underachievement in New Zealand's education system, and I know that unless we can deliver credible change in that area, an awful lot of New Zealanders will slip through the cracks.

How do you think being raised by a single mother in a home with your two sisters has shaped your character?
I've got a softer side to me. Look, you don't miss what you don't have. I like people. My strongest point on the campaign trail was that I was relaxed, and I think I can get on pretty easily with New Zealanders from all walks of life. The biggest challenge, I think, for any Prime Minister is to stay connected with the people who elect you. Once you lose sight of that, then the end is probably not that far away. n

• Daniel Williams