While the US increases tariffs, the first -minister and its deputy are conflicting – not just about the strategy, but who can define New Zealand’s foreign policy tone, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s bulletin extract.
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The fracture in foreign policy messages
As global tensions increase over Donald Trump’s trade war, Christopher Luxon has been working on their phones and polishing their statesman’s credentials, launching New Zealand as a voice for free trade. On Thursday, Luxon stated that “free trade is worth fighting” and that it would spend the rest of the day by calling the world leaders to support support for strengthening the CTTPP free trade agreement, potentially through an EU connection. His foreign minister was not impressed. Speaking on SundayWinston Peters described a struggle conversation like “hysterical and myopic” and warned against “React[ing] Very fast and very established ”for the events that unfold. Of Luxon, he said,” I hope he gets my message and call me next time. “
A QUESTION OF CONSULTATION
In the center of disagreement is the perception that Luxon was alone. The first -minister insists that the issue was discussed in the office and that all ministers were on the same page, reports Stuff’s Glenn McConnell. However Herald’s Thomas Coughlan (Premium Paywalld) says that Luxon’s “white pages diplomacy was invented in real time and its coalition partners are annoyed that they were not properly consulted.
For Pattrick Smellie in BusinessDesk (Paywalled), Peters’s indignation is a bit rich. Luxon’s plan is “precisely the strategy currently persecuted all the time by the commercial negotiators and diplomats of his own MFAT. Peters must certainly be aware of it. However, he described Luxon’s actions as ‘premature’, suggesting that NZ should keep his head and wait for the dust track, suggest that what he is playing in the Washingn DC is part of the planning.
“This sounds very similar to the endorsement of the absurd notion that Trump is playing quadymensional plaid when he is clearly deceiving and destroying wealth, confidence and consistency, while actively delivering the global influence of the US.”
The background policy
Although disagreement may seem like a policy confrontation, the politics behind it is equally significant. Smellie says the Luxon free trade throwing was a rare moment of confident leadership after months of errors. For Peters, on the other hand, the episode presented the chance to reaffirm itself as a senior partner of the coalition, especially with David Seymour about to face the minister vice -first, writes Sam Sachdeva in the newsroom.
Peters may also be trying to put some distance between him and the government before a possible instant election, writes Richard Harman in Politik (Paywalled). New Zealand apparently “began preparing contingency plans for an election before the end of the year … Concerned about the fact that once Act David Seymour’s leader becomes vice -PM, they can see a growing potential for the coalition to separate.”
Being with the neck
Behind the spit is a thicker question: Should New Zealand be drawing so much attention to herself? While most in parliament agree with the value of free and low turtle trade, “believing in free trade is quite different from proclaiming that the belief so loud that you cause a war of words with the most powerful (and volatile) man in the world.” COUGHLAN writes. Luxon can earn a domestic points for speaking, but his approach risks being interpreted as promoting an anti-Trump alliance. And this can be a very dangerous position for New Zealand to meet.
