Luxon's Inability to read the room

When Vicki's favourite Uncle passed away from Covid related conditions, a sharp, handsome Air NZ pilot confided to me at the funeral that Luxon was more of a money man than a people person. There was more to be said but I let it go...I knew he would not make that comment lightly.

It was just more confirmation of what I had read and heard from former airline cabin crew and others around Air NZ - and so it was through this lens that I began to notice examples of where Luxon had no ability to read the room.

Luxon first burst into the public eye really when he was making profits at Air NZ and shareholders were happy and corporate NZ buzzed about him - so when he entered politics there was a big noise that he was Sir John's man - and he was going to be John Key the Second.

As we all know Luxon sat on the back bench while writing letters to Mayors - about the perils of Three Waters and pretending he was fit to be the Minister for Māori Development.

Finally when the time was right ( As Delta was defeated ) in late November 2021 - the National Party ditched place-holder Judith Collins and Luxon was unanimously elected leader of the National Party as Simon Bridges licked his wounds.

The first and most blatant example of Luxon failing to read the room followed when he allowed himself to be part of a staged PR entry to parliament - involving the hire of two black Mercedes - which waited for a signal to drive across the road to Parliament - past the press gallery - who would then stampede like a herd of headline obsessed bison after the great man in his symbol of wealth.

Luxon bounded up the stairs, looked over his shoulder and passed out of sight, while the Press Gallery reported how magnificent it all was to behold, this historic moment.

It took some time for Jessica to catch her breath.

In the days and weeks that followed Luxon was praised for ripping 5% off Act in the polls almost instantly - but he also messed things up.

For example Luxon declared that the World had moved on from Covid while six nations in Europe were locking down because of Omicron - which you might say was a massive failure to read 27 rooms or more.

The corporate hero also told Jack Tame he was a big fan of Mata-you-know Rangi holidays - plus he failed to read his first question in parliament coherently - and ended up saying something about wallabies - which made everyone cry with laughter.

You might recall that neither Luxon nor Willis knew the living wage and Luxon was keen not to talk about Air New Zealand but suffered badly from reminding everyone how he used to run an airline. It was another case of Luxon being detached while the nation fell around laughing at him - Welease Brian - springs to mind.

Luxon also told NewsHub that abortion was tantamount to murder which - well - make up your own mind.

Curiously Atlas Network member Simon Power was appointed to run TVNZ at this time - wow what a coincidence.

Luxon goofed off with Chris Bishop over Christmas at the Cricket while Sir Ashley tried to secure enough RATs - and bunkered down as MIQ gave us all six weeks grace.

Around this time Luxon boasted proudly of the new Nat candidate selection system that Sylvia had implemented - the one that gave us Sam Uffindell - and he glowed about "elite Maori" who would soon make National more diverse.

Luxon also read out a Waitangi speech that focused on James Cook and not Māori history - failing to read the room ( a speech he would repeat in 2023 and 2024 )

By this time Simon Bridges was gaffing on about inflation and Luxon was being outshone by Seymour - and the huge effort from outside New Zealand to incite fascists and extreme right conspiracy theorists began to whip up into the form of parliamentary protests on the lawn outside.

Luxon failed to read the room - as he reluctantly cancelled his small town hall meetings - but only after having to be convinced that there was a thing called Omicron spreading.

Luxon failed to read the room when he announced tax cuts for the rich - when NZ could least afford it and these had to later be drastically pared back to what we have now.

Luxon failed to read the room when he told Newstalk ZB we do not feed the bottom - those bottom feeders can feed themselves.

At the end of March Luxon was in the hands of Matt Burgess ( Atlas NZ initiative ) and in the lead in the polls - and Luke Malpass wrote how - Luxon was shrewd and read the room - cos he wore a sweater not a suit to an interview.

Use the Atlas Force Luke. Yes it was now time to make Christopher into an every day guy - just like your neighbour - in contrast to the Black Mercedes and hero worship...so Luxon started wearing Gumboots and doing photoshoots with people to appear connected and diverse...when he was just the opposite.

Luxon failed to read the room when he called for Labour Day to be abolished on RNZ. Oh dear, the excuse was made he had only been joking.

It was only months later that Luxon failed to read the room at Ormiston Junior College where he sat on a table before Maori students and Atlas Network Kiwiblog - had to do damage control big time. Wow - Mata-you-know-Rangi but worse.

Next minute - Luxon failed to read the room when Simeon Brown and Simon O'Connor went full mansplain over how it was a great day that Roe vs Wade had been overturned and Luxon hurried to say he'd resign if National touched the "settled law" - but wow he hurried off onto a plane and failed to read the room in Singapore.

Yes Luxon decided nobody could see he was wearing his mask under his nostrils ( failed to read the room ) and he tried to shake hands with officials in Singapore who did not wish to take that fat pudgy hand.

All of Luxon's appointments with people in England were cancelled ( OMG the room dude ) so it was up to children to show him around strict schools and yes he made that speech at the Policy Exchange ( initially an Atlas think tank ) where he failed to read the room back home and called NZ businesses too soft. Something that got Fran's nostrils flaring as she donned the lash and boots - which had been made for walking - and she gave Luxon a sound thrashing in the NZ Herald.

Next minute Luxon failed to read the room by buggering off on an elite filthy rich luxury holiday ( at the peak of CPI Inflation in NZ ) in Hawaii and failed to stop his Facebook admin from telling the public - he was actually here in Te Puke.

When Luxon got back he haggled about how he was entitled to take a holiday and how he always holidays in Hawaii in July - and he makes no apology - but after he was bitch slapped into reality by his press secretary and mates - he emerged later that day and said - we got it wrong - or at least a staffer did.

It actually took Jessica to tell the Parliamentary Gallery it was time to move on before they did. Thanks Jessica - we had to get to know him.

Next the Uffindell report had to be hidden and Luxon failed to read the room again as he said "it is what it is and we are where we are", once again - he was covering up after Todd McClay had advised his office about Uffindell's bedleg past - but a staffer ( possibly Atlas Network ) had failed to pass on the message. A million "Yeah Rights".

Luxon's baggy trousers at the Queen's funeral looked like he had failed to read an entire Cathedral - almost as bad as Hosking's rip off King Charles replica shoes.

Luxon decided it would be a good idea if he flipped burgers at McDonald's on the day after Fair Pay Agreements passed into law...the room ...failure to read...but Jessica was very impressed.

Luxon had recently bounded around a boxing ring and Jessica told other political reporters on RNZ we wanted to see more of that.

Luxon failed to read the room when he drove across Auckland with a camera crew and media on their way - to the Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham - where Luxon posed before cameras as he laid down flowers and maximised publicity for himself out of the tragic death of a young man.

Luxon kept making gaffes - and had to be rescued by Willis who had replaced Bridges - and one memorable gaffe was when he told a bloke NZers had become whiney and moaning and kiwis had lost their mojo - well Luxon then pretended he was not talking about New Zealanders but Labour.

Both Luke ( Atlas ) and Bryce ( probably Atlas at Victoria Uni ) rushed to support Luxon's excuses and blatant outright lies.

By Christmas 2022 - Luxon was wearing the American family PJs which some say was a failure to read some kiwi rooms - and it was not long before Luxon was in full swing failing to read rooms in a cyclone.

Never in the history of callous self promotion had anybody organised to take so many gratuitous fake disaster tourist photos of themselves - as Christopher Luxon during the floods and cyclone. The staged nature of Luxon caught out carrying boxes, rolling up sodden carpets and heroically chopping pumpkins filled his facebook page. What a guy.

Of course Erica's shoes were spotless and Simeon never fixed a pothole.

Failing to read the room was all the rage for Luxon as he proclaimed he owned a Tesla on TV Three only to later insist it was his wife's Tesla...well he'd taken that subsidy ( I am entitled to ) and then ...criticised the Ute Tax / Clean Car Discount as subsiding Tesla Owners. Luxon even mixed up the "We’d keep the Clean Car Discount" with "We'd keep the clean car standard" but that donut U-Turn was another story.

Who can forget Luxon failing to read the room over that Foreign Buyers Tax and the Spreadsheet he refused to show the Public as Jack Tame and Rebecca Wright ripped him to shreds?

Luxon failed to read the room over the smoking legislation when he adopted Tobacco Industry talking points about a blackmarket and how there would be only one store in Northland selling cigarettes at a Press Conference.

Keeping this article short - there were many other examples of Luxon failing to the read the room - as he re-read out the same speech at Waitangi for three years in a row - used Cue Cards rather than speak from the heart - and pretended he cared deeply about Māori and people on benefits that he would make worse off - saying he will not abandon them because he cares deeply.

The whole failure to rule out David Seymour's Treaty Principle's Bill after the first reading - by using intentionally opaque language was a drawn out example of Luxon's determination not to buckle to the room until he was smacked over the snout and suddenly changed his language.

That inability to read the room - always requires somebody who can read the room to intervene and send Luxon back out there to explain the reversal.

Yesterday we saw Luxon's inability to read the room once again as he doubled down ( like he had on so many occasions Jessica ) and insisted he was "entitled" and "did not see the problem" until just as the 6 PM News was being read - the same Atlas Handlers realised Luxon was about to mess everything up over $52,000 and Luxon made another U-Turn.

Yes I have skipped over other examples of Luxon failing to read the room like Luxon pushing in for Coffee at Charlie Farlies and running over the Rāhui at Onetangi in his $250,000 boat to go fishing - but I think you get the picture.

This is a person who lacks the empathy to be able to read a room and so - a trail of failures soon becomes evident and that long trail will never improve because Luxon is essentially akin to a psychopath having to be instructed about his navigation.

That's my opinion. What is yours?

Luxon's Inability to read the room

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