Trading Up

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.