The Mood of the Boardroom; part deux

We've taken a look at what some of New Zealand's leading CEO's think of John Key, Bill English and the current government.

But what do they think of the alternative? The Herald reports:

Thoughts of a Labour/Green alliance running the country has given CEOs food for thought.
Asked if Green Party co-leaders Russel Norman and Metiria Turei have added sufficient heft to the Opposition to make a credible potential government, Paul Ravlich, chief executive at Siemens, said: "God, I truly hope not."
And that about sums up the views of the majority of CEOs who took part in this year's survey.
One CEO said: "The resulting commercial and business naivety is scary. Their energy policy is a constitutional outrage - The Greens are akin to selling rat poison under the Coca Cola brand - the branding of the Greens as 'green' belies their position as hard left."

There's no denying that the Greens have shed their "warm and fuzzy" veneer that prevailed when the party was led by the late Rod Donald and Jeanette Fitzsimons. That current co-leaders Dr Russel Norman and Metiria Turei come from backgrounds of socialism and anarchism respectively gives more than a hint that the Green brand has been hijacked by activists for left-wing ideologies.

But the CEO's go further, citing a lack of business acumen as one of their primary concerns; read on:

Of chief executive respondents to this question, 26 per cent say Norman and Turei have added weight to Labour's dream of running the country while 64 per cent said they haven't.
John Barnett, chairman of South Pacific Pictures, says though the co-leaders have scored a few points, they have not added value to Labour because "the questions remain as to how potentially competing philosophies can be combined. Will the tail wag the dog?"

One CEO said: "The Greens have become the Alliance Party in drag. Their naive economic and trade policy thinking threatens to put at risk achievements made on the trade front through the effective bipartisan efforts of both Labour and National."
John Roberts, managing director at Veda, wonders why Shearer is putting any stock in the Greens at all.
"Why Labour would align with this party is bewildering. If they want to ensure they do not become the next government, stay with the Greens."
However, Mark Cairns, CEO at the Port of Tauranga, says though the Green Party is not credible for his personal politics, "Norman and Turei have certainly added heft."

And the fact that the Greens have carefully crafted their persona through shrewd marketing (with the exception of the "Hey Clint" debacle) has not the notice of captains of industry:

It seems the Green Party has the better spin doctors, with one CEO saying: "TV news now asks the Greens to comment before Labour, such is the quality of response coming from Greens." Another says the Greens have done a good job coming across as credible to the ordinary Kiwi.
"In fact, their policies are nuts, but ordinary folk don't seem to dig below the surface, they take their spin. They are clever, they dress well, look credible, and they don't look like nutty Greens."
Kim Campbell, CEO at the Employers and Manufacturers' Association, says the Green Party will appeal to some, "but is far too wacky to attract the mainstream electorate".
Todd McLeay, CEO at Whybin TBWA, says: "The Greens could be a real political force if they became more mainstream, but still had an environmental bent."
Peter Reidie, managing director at Goodman Fielder, accuses the party of hiding behind "Green" to push a social/economic system only Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea can now claim."

As slick as the Green Party PR machine may be, the "Hey Clint" story and the back-track over printing money will come back to haunt the Greens. They will have to try a lot harder to convince the movers and shakers of the business sector that they are the real deal.

Meanwhile, the verdict is no kinder on David Shearer; watch this space...