Francesca Rudkin: If you’re a politician out with a friend - just remember to pay the bill

I like to have a good time, I let my hair down occasionally, and over the years I have by no means always behaved perfectly in public after a few drinks on a Friday night.

I’ve worked in the media for 25 years after all, an industry that really can’t throw shade at anyone else’s Friday night mishaps.

However, Wellington mayor Tory Whanau is likely wishing she had one less glass on Friday night. You know the story; apparently, she turned up to a restaurant with few drinks under her belt, had a meal and a few more drinks with a friend, and then made a bit of scene.

Supposedly she said, “Do you know who I am” at some point to wait staff - although we’re not sure of the tone. Was it threatening, like in The Godfather? Comical? Or a genuine question? Then she accidently left without paying the bill - a miscommunication between friends.  

Tory Whanau would have been just one of many, many people putting on a show in Wellington, and any other New Zealand town on Friday night. But she’s a public persona responsible for leading Wellington Council, a council currently dealing with a lot of challenges. So was it a good look?  

No it wasn’t.

It was embarrassing, and unnecessary, and another controversial headline for the Mayor. I like the way Tory Whanau is herself, speaks her mind, and doesn’t appear to be hand-held by a public relations team, but yesterday she should have come out with less excuses; instead simply apologised and moved on.

The vast majority of us would have sympathised and also happily moved on.  

Former Mayor Kerry Prendergast made a good point on Newstalk ZB last night. She claims this kind of behaviour “diminishes the respect and mana of the office” and the issue is probably more to do with behaviour and what we deem to be acceptable as opposed to whether the Mayor can do her job.    

And it’s not like alcohol and politics haven’t always had a cosy relationship. There are books on it. BBC journalists Ben Wright wrote in his book Order, Order, which charts the rise and fall of political drinking in the UK, that “Politics just floated along on a sea of claret for about two centuries.”

I’m sure there is a history of New Zealand politicians who can relate to that sentiment.  

The reality is much of politics is about relationships, and sometimes there’s no better way of getting to know someone than over a lunch or dinner. And if you’re a politician out with a friend - just remember to pay the bill, presume no one knows who you are, and beware that if they do know who you are they’ll be watching closely.

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