Key uses carrot and stick

Parties of the left tend to rely more on sticks (keep your workplace safe or we will fine you) and parties of the right more on carrots (keep your worksafe place and your workplace insurance premiums will drop).

John Key reinforces his centrist tendencies, by utilising both the carrot and stick in this story in the Dom Post:

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw should watch his back – because Prime Minister John Key says he risks getting tasered if he fails to win the Rugby World Cup next year.

Mr Key this morning addressed an audience of Kiwi businessmen in South Korea’s capital, Seoul.

He joked he had given Mr McCaw the hard word about clinching the World Cup when New Zealand hosts the tournament next year.

“I’ve tried to tell Richie McCaw that it’s very important – it’s an election year,” Key said.

If Mr McCaw won the cup “he may well become Sir Richard McCaw”.

“Now I’ve encouraged him to get to know the minister of police, because I’ve decided that if he doesn’t win the World Cup, maybe we could consider tasering him as well,” Key said.

“There is sort of an option either way there – we are an incentive-based political party.”

If this incentive based scheme actually works and we win the Rugby World Cup, then maybe John should be appointed Olympics Coach after his parliamentary career!