MONIQUE FORD/Stuff
National Party leader Christopher Luxon as Humpty Dumpty wearing Air New Zealand cufflinks and an aviation-themed tie.
“Do you reckon the shape is right, the shape of that head?” Christopher Luxon wonders out loud as he assesses his new puppet.
The National Party leader is the shortest-serving MP to receive the very Wellington honour of a puppet on the walls of the Backbencher Gastropub, across the road from Parliament.
“This is scary,” he said as he took the stage with pub owner Alistair Boyce for the launch. The pub was packed for the unveiling of his puppet, with about 100 people standing around with drinks and waiting to see what caricature was in store for the new leader.
A puppet of previous leader Judith Collins had been relegated to a corner of the crowded pub and a blue curtain loomed in the puppet’s spot above the bar, directly across the room from the puppet of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
READ MORE:
* Protest forces businesses around Parliament to close
* New political puppets unveiled at Wellington’s Backbencher pub
* Prime Minister immortalised as DJ puppet at Wellington’s Backbencher pub
MONIQUE FORD/Stuff
Judith Collins laughs in the background as Christopher Luxon talks about his new puppet.
The curtain dropped, to the tune of Luxon singing Bills by LunchMoney Lewis, to reveal a giant-headed Luxon as a sharply dressed Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall. The background was a fairground and ferris wheel, with Nicola Willis selling tickets.
“That is sensational. I was worried you weren’t going to get my skin coverage right,” Luxon said.
He was even thrilled by his puppet’s stylish outfit. “This stuff doesn’t come together easily each day,” he said, gesturing to his suit. The puppet has shiny shoes, an aeroplane-patterned tie and Air New Zealand cufflinks to complete the look.
“Mum and Dad are going to love that.”
Boyce said the pub landed on Humpty Dumpty because “we know we can’t kick you around but we might be able to crack you a bit”.
In a “little Q&A” with Luxon, Boyce compared him to soap because he is so “slippery and clean”, presenting him with a poster for Lux-soap – a reference to Luxon’s days working at Unilever.
During the light-hearted Q&A, Luxon described government productivity as “total rubbish”, Three Waters reform as a “big asset steal”, and reviving Zeppelins for air travel as a “brilliant idea”.
