P.M ‘sensitive to ridicule’

Press, 30 October 1981, Page 1

P.M ‘sensitive to ridicule’

By

GARRY ARTHUR

Before the satirist, Tom Scott, left for Melbourne to cover the Commonwealth heads of government conference he drew a cartoon of what he thought would happen. It shows the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) walking up the path to the conference building, and all the other world leaders diving for cover. In the event, Tom Scott feels, that was substantially what happened. “They ignored him,” said Mr Scott in Christchurch yesterday. “He was a lonely and isolated figure.” Tom Scott was a little

isolated himself. The “Listener,” which employs him

as parliamentary correspondent, would not send him to Melbourne, and the Muldoon cartoon was done for another journal, the “New Zealander,” which plans to boost its print run to 25,000 on the day it runs Scott’s cartoon and Melbourne coverage. The Melbourne event led to a brief rift with the “Listener,” but Mr Scott is now back on the staff and has been touring the country promoting his third book of collected columns and drawings, entitled “Snakes and Leaders." Although Tom Scott has had some very public prob-

lems trying to cover the Muldoon Administration —

banned from Prime Ministerial press conferences, banned from the press party covering Mr Muldoon’s visit to India, then difficulties about covering Melbourne and the General Election —- be does not seem to feel that Mr Muldoon really has it in for him.

“I have the belief, rightly or wrongly,” he said, “that while I may irritate him from time to time, he is not that opposed to me.”

He thinks his troubles stem from the fact that Mr Muldoon does not like being laughed at — that he is sensitive to criticism, and particularly to ridicule. .

"I don’t have strong feelings about him,” Mr Scott said. “I have a personal regard for his political skills — he is a very genuine New Zealander, a true nationalist. He really does care about New Zealand. “But at the same time I am disgusted at some of his behaviour and ashamed of some of his behaviour in Melbourne. I actually felt embarrassed to be a New Zealander.

"I am sure that if the roles had been reversed and I had been going on like that he would have been just as ashamed of me. I suspect that he might be ashamed of himself. But there is one thing that he cannot do —

and this has - scarred his Prime Ministership — he has an inability to apologise and admit his mistakes.

“It is significant that the thing missing from all his books is any acknowledgement that be has any human or political frailties. He has got to see himself as a winner; he has got to rewrite history endlessly to prove that point.”

But where would Tom Scott be without Rob Muldoon? The satirist readily admits that the Prime Minister is perfect material.

“When there was a leadership challenge last year I don’t think anyone was more worried than the cartoonists and satirists of New Zea-

land,” he said. Even if National lost this election, Mr Muldoon would still be good copy on the Opposition benches.

Tom Scott says he can nowdraw Mr Rowling quite well, but that he is a lot harder to draw than Mr Muldoon.

“It took me a long time to see how his mouth worked. His mouth is actually more aggressive than Muldoon’s — you see more of his bottom teeth, and anthropologists say that is a sign of aggression.”

The ones he enjoys drawing are those he regards as eccentrics — the Minister of Immigration (Mr Malcolm), the Minister, of Broadcasting

(Mr Cooper), and Sir Basil Arthur.

But he has decided to layoff the Minister of Transport (Mr McLachlan). He has not drawn him for about 18 months, because others were starting to satirise him and “I don’t like hunting in packs.” He felt that he was in danger of reaching the point where satire became gratuitous and cruel.

“From all accounts, Mr McLachlan is an incredibly courteous, affable and considerate Minister.”

Apart from his return to the “Listener,” Tom Scott’s big project at the moment is his collaboration with Murray Ball on an animated film version of “Footrot Flats.” He is working on the script and expects animation to start in March. The film may be launched at Cannes in 1983.