PM cancels Europe trip after quake
Prime Minister John Key has cancelled his scheduled visit to Europe in the wake of Saturday's devastating earthquake in Canterbury.
The announcement he had cancelled his trip came as foreign affairs officials briefed media due to travel with Mr Key.
Media were being told of the importance of the trip when a spokeswoman for Mr Key arrived and told them the trip had been cancelled because of the earthquake.
He was to leave on Friday.
At his weekly post-Cabinet press conference late yesterday afternoon Mr Key had said the trip would go on despite the quake.
He said he would only leave if he could be confident Christchurch's recovery was on track.
Mr Key was due to travel to London to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron and to Paris where he would meet President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon.
He, and wife Bronagh, were also to spend the weekend with the Queen at Balmoral in Scotland.
Mr Key would also have attended the unveiling of a memorial for New Zealand World War 2 hero Sir Keith Park, visited Longueval on the Somme and held discussions at the OECD.
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Comments and questions10
Good local PR but poor strategy long term for NZ inc. no one died and he has a cabinet here to look afetr rebuild, but if he went the media would just crucify him so unfortunately sub standard decsiions have to be made at a time like this.
Unlike the PRESIDENT of PAKISTAN!
Just like Anzac day & the middle east trade delegation. Jk's making the best decision possible with the cards he had been dealt !
Is Mr Key under the impression that no one is capable of doing anything in this country without his expert supervision? Go and do your job, let the experts do theirs.
Bad call. John's just worried about the bad pr/media if he were to go. He should go. They are very important people to be networking with. He can still be contacted via the phone for updates/decisions. The media should be making a negative story about how stupid it is for him not to be going.
Would Jafa be singing a different song if Auckland had been hit by the earthquake? John Key is doing the right thing.
John Key is definitely making the correct call. Politics is about impressions, lasting ones.
Picking the right cause to get behind, showing leadership, and delivering. Many forget the last.
bty I am a jafa, and very pleased with the way JK is handling the situation.
For those who need a lesson in keeping ones trap shut, go no further than Jim Anderton who smuggly mussed on Friday evening that "the only way he could loose the Chch Mayoraly race was if there was an earthquake" Someone doesn't like you Jim, obscurity awaits.
I wanna bang john key
No big deal Key not going. It was just another taxpayer-funded junket, anyway. The only difference, this time, was: he and his wife get to sleep in a real comfy bed, with real goose-feathers eiderdown and pillows; while snoring away, in Buckingham Palace.
A very good move by Key.A sign of good leadership is being seen to be in control in disastrous situations and Key has performed just right on this occasion.
Compare that to the President of Pakistan who continued with his overseas jumket as if he didn't have a care in the world and then he expected foreigners to send his corrupt Government money, none of which will ever get to the people in need.
Watching Key from Australia, where he has been appearing regularly on Australian TV in prime time, he has come across as caring, on the spot, in control and low key (in a positive sense). An excellent example for Government Leaders to follow in terms of how to best handle difficult situations.
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