The emerging Government

The Herald reports:

Act leader Rodney Hide and United Future’s sole MP, Peter Dunne, are likely to get ministerial roles outside Cabinet – a deal structure pioneered by Helen Clark.

I’m not very keen on these sort of deals. My belief is that all but the most minor portfolios should be held by Ministers in Cabinet. Call me a traditionalist but the weakening of collective responsibility is a concern. Now to be fair to Key, he is not weakening it – Clark did. He is just not reversing it.

Peters was an example of how badly things can go – a Foreign Affairs Minister who campaigned against the Government’s free trade deal with China. Dunne however did show that you can make such an arrangement work.

While Mr Hide is making strong comments about the policies, he is also saying he has no bottom lines in the negotiations.

“We were clear in this campaign that we would support John Key as Prime Minister,” he said.

“We will honour that commitment. We’re not about to swing our toys out of the sandpit because we don’t get what we want.”

A very mature approach, and one which will probably please many of their voters who want stability.