Is anyone worried about Rodney Hide?

I watched him on Sunday tonight – what an arrogant and demanding man. No grace, no poise – this is what we want and this is what we’ll get. John Key stared blankly back. I’d live to know what was going on in his mind…

Compare Rodney’s performance to Pita Sharples of the Maori Party. Pita did not make one request of John Key. He said they had a ‘portfolio’ that they would present to Key on Tuesday, but other than that they would wait and see where the negotiations headed. He even avoided the question of whether they would accept a seat at the cabinet table.

Contrast that with Rodney Hide who sat there bulldozing John Key with demands he implement the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy as well as cutting government spending and scrapping the Emissions Trading Scheme.

• Key has already announced he’s making a big spending promise with the April 2009 tax-cuts
• National opposed the ETS but has expressed interest in reforming the current scheme, so there will still be one
• And it remains to be seen how staunch National will be on law and order, but likely not to be as staunch as ACT would like.

So, can National and ACT work together? If National invites the Maori Party in (and the Maori Party accept) then they don’t need ACT.

Close of business Tuesday will reveal all.