John Key Appeared on the BBC's Hardtalk

The BBC’s Hardtalk interview with John Key certainly caused great interest around the world, the video becoming the second most popular on the BBC’s website. Read our blog about it and watch the videos here

Here’s what New Zealanders have been saying about it

Zorr (The Standard.org.nz)

Finally, an interview where some truly difficult points were forced. Made John Key look like a complete amateur and, despite some notable occasions, Stephen Sackeur is a wonderful interviewer who does his research.The only question left to ask is this: wtf was John Key thinking accepting an interview from the one place that was going to truly sock it to him?

Stephen regularly makes the world’s most powerful people cringe in their chairs and only a few have truly stood their ground and fought with him – he always has an army of facts for any interview he does and isn’t afraid to follow up the 1st punch with a 2nd and 3rd…

Eddie (The Standard.org.nz)

god, he gets tetchy after a couple of questions… and then it gets worse.

“we’re 100% pure, relative to other countries”

and when he asks Key if he’s happy to have china owning Kiwi farmland

“well, we’re happy to have them as a major trading partner”

“that’s not what I asked you, is it?”

is there a link to the full interview?

Newsman ( NZ general Google Groups )

The interview is instructive in more ways than one. Good to have it archived in toto on the HDD.

New Zealanders will be overjoyed to know the entire BBC World audience has had an opportunity to discover and assess the calibre and character of the slither-tongued man who now runs the show here.

As is his habit, the thoroughly researched Sackur expertly conducted John Key through major New Zealand topics and issues, the responses to most of which Sackur received with a wholesome skepticism matching to perfection the style and substance of what came back at him.

As an example of the general tone Key brought to the broadcast, and for a revealing study of an inept New Zealand prime minister regaling his worldwide audience by gratuitously disavowing one of his own country’s top scientists, try this excerpt: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/9480610.stm

(Note John Key’s embarrassed smirk the moment Sackur introduces the “100% Pure” topic)

Unsurprisingly, while the cattle-class NZ media went ape over John Key’s lame sidekick spot on the insubstantial Letterman a while back, this time they have been mute when it came to the potential gravitas of his one big chance: a long-form 25-minute encounter with the redoubtable Sackur on a universally accessible worldwide network.

I think most of us know this myth is a load of bollocks. The only factor that makes NZ apparently green is the incredible low population factor. It has a tiny population in regard to its land mass. Alas our rivers and lakes are terribly polluted and we have more coal than we can eat so that will be all dug up sold & exported or burned here. Many kiwi knobbers see it fit to drive huge 4 and 5 litre penis extenders and those that don’t push their cars to such limits speed wise they too are gas guzzlers. This is not a hit on Nz this is just how I see things and having been here 6 years I have seen a lot.

Mummybot (The Standard.org.nz)

Key’s answers were very telling taking on two flavours. The first was a typical denialist attack – discredit the source by saying it was that scientist’s ‘opinion’ and that he could find other opinions to refute it. His second type of reply was that there wasn’t an issue just ‘look out the window’ at the natural beauty.The first is disingenuous, the second is quite scary if that is his yardstick for conservation. It implies that so long as the green veneer is there then he is happy to sell the 100% NZ brand regardless of any environmental crises going on behind.

Easyway (Trademe)

The interviewer ripped into Key for his propaganda, spin, BS and incompetency.

No wonder Key is now scared of going in front of any host that might question him too hard and expose his ineptness. Wonder when he will front up in front of Mr John Campbell!

Proud Greenie (Yahoo NZ news)

So he’s admitting the damage caused by dairying while at the same time putting policies in place that encourage an increase in cow numbers? Hopefully international pressure can make this government red-faced enough to start taking action to preserve our reputation, if it’s not already beyond repair.

Iracisble (The Standard.org.nz)

The HardTalk interview has probably done more to boost Goff & Labour’s chances in the November election than any other media event in the past 2 & half years. My friends , scattered across the world wherever HardTalk screened, have all expressed a collective cringe at seeing such a pitiful performance from a NZ PM.

Key’s performance was one that demonstrated what quality interviewing is all about… the interviewer allowing the interviewee to put his own foot in his mouth and then gently probing so that the foot goes even deeper into the speaker’s throat.

There was no excuse for Key being so uninformed, so ignorant and so shallow apart from his own arrogant belief in his PR creation.

Peter S (The Dim Post)

Key must really appreciate (as PM and Minister for Tourism) at being dropped in the proverbial by over zealous admen. The 100% pure slogan is b/s and always has been. Perhaps being directly challenged by a BBC interviewer in one of NZ’s most important tourist markets will get him and the Govt. of their bums to actually do something about the uncontrolled pollution of rivers by dairy farmers.