The Mike Hosking Breakfast

John Key not only appeared on our show Friday, having put out a video reminding us all what is at stake this Saturday, he also appeared on a podcast suggesting Luxon has been the victim of a hit job by the left and the media.
I think he is right. I would also suggest the media is the left, and the left is the media.
But, and it's a big "but", it makes no difference. It is what it is, and to his credit, Luxon has not complained about his treatment, often using the line "it's like a farmer complaining about the weather".
I do worry about John Key and his role. He left office ten years ago and he clearly is still the National Party's greatest asset.
What's that say about the National Party?
I thought about this last week when I watched Obama get rolled out as part of the midterms. He is as electric as he ever was.
But you can equally ask the question, given Trump got to the White House also a decade ago, why hasn’t he been replaced by someone new and just as charismatic?
Is it the times? Does the world not produce leaders anymore of any real consequence?
A similar thing happens in Australia. They still roll John Howard out and he still carries more weight than you might want to admit in a party that has badly fallen by the wayside.
Is it nostalgic? Is it not so much the character of the individual but the times themselves? They just happened to be at the top during those times so when we hear them, we are transported back to a better place.
It's memory lane and we like it better than what we have now.
And is what we have now the result of leaders who aren't up to much, or is it the march of the modern world? Whether it be social media and AI and humanoids, could any leader could make it any different?
Howard is too far removed to be an issue for the current leader of the coalition and for Obama, he is still current because the Democrats don’t have a leader. Would Obama fade if Gavin Newsom officially ran?
But does Key haunt Luxon just a little bit much?
Has Luxon not shone because he never lived up to the Key reputation?
Or is Key right, and no one could have survived the beating of the left and the media?
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The stakes are high for Donald Trump and his Republican Party as American's head to the polls just before us next week, on Wednesday.
The midterm elections will determine control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, shaping how much power Trump has to push through his agenda for the remainder of his presidency.
US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking Trump's approval rating is at an all-time low, with the worst numbers for any president before a midterm.
As a result, he says, the Democrats look to have a strong likelihood of taking control of the House.
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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Monday 2nd of November, we dig into the AA report showing we've hit the lowest road toll in over a century.
The Prime Minister and National Party leader Christopher Luxon joins Mike for two hours for his Leader's Breakfast, discussing what he's achieved, broken promises, and looking ahead to a new government.
Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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National's Leader denies they're being too negative in their election campaign.
Their campaign has focused on the potential outcome of a Labour-led coalition, with a particular focus on Green Party Co-Leader Chloe Swarbrick and her desire to be Finance Minister.
Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking on the Leaders Breakfast his message is very simple: stick with a plan that's working.
He says they're doing the right things, and the future looks incredibly bright, so don't put that at risk with a Labour coalition.
"There's a risk. You've got four parties, you've got six leaders, and you got nine new taxes on the table and an $18 billion hole. I'm telling you what they will do is they will do exactly what they've done before – they will spend more, tax more, borrow more."
"They are not the answer to the, to the problems that we've been dealing with."
He says New Zealand is at a crossroads and they've worked too damn hard for the last three years to get it into this shape, so don't put it at risk.
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Christopher Luxon is brushing off latest poll results that have them behind Labour on all but one of the key issues this election.
The Ipsos Issues monitor ranks how much voters trust political parties to deliver on issues. Inflation was the leading concern and Labour the frontrunner, with 38% to National's 24%.
Health, petrol prices, the economy, and unemployment round out the top five, with Labour on top of all four.
The National Leader told Mike Hosking on the Leaders Breakfast polls say all sorts of things in any given week, and people should go look at the data.
He says the economy is better under the National-led coalition than it was under Labour – same with inflation.
"My job is to actually get under the hood, fix the fundamentals, make sure that they're actually done right and sorted because actually, it's not sexy stuff, it's not popular stuff, it's the stuff that actually does matter to make it work for the future."
Luxon says they've seen growth in things like tourism, exports, and construction since their government came to power.
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