Quote Originally Posted by fungus pudding View Post
If Luxon or anyone else proves popular it's hardly likely to affect morale; no more than Fred Bloggs if Fred stands and gets in. Should only those unlikely to be popular stand?
No, not at all. It's virtually nothing to do with popularity.

But it's similar to the creeping demoralization that you see in the Public Service, where it's increasingly rare for a CE to be someone who has had a career with a Department, knows the operational side, understands policy and strategy, and how to implement them.

Instead, time at one of the "policy agencies" is becoming increasingly important. So senior management spends time having things explained to them. And the operational people spend ever-increasing amounts of time bringing management up to speed.

Who with ambition is going to put in the years of donkey work if they know that the top job is going to be forever out of reach?

Welcome to celebrity politics. . .