New Zealanders have an often-contradictory view about what they expect in their politicians.

At one level, they are frequently dismissive of those they regard as "career" politicians with no real life-experience. They barely tolerate the way they do things because they are just the "games politicians play." They deride all politicians for their perceived caution and tendency to see most situations through their own particular political prisms.

They say they yearn for leaders who will simply get on with the job, and deal with the things that matter to people, rather than keep pursuing their own political agendas. So, when Christopher Luxon came along, with no real political experience, but a solid business background and no apparent desire to morph into a political figure the way his mentor Sir John Key did, he was seen as a breath of fresh air, precisely because he was avowedly "not a politician".

However, despite the superficial appeal of a non-politician experienced business leader running the country, people still expected Luxon to quickly get to grips with the political game and how to play to it, in just the same way they expect players bursting into the All Blacks to immediately know how to play international rugby. Much of the criticism Luxon has faced as Prime Minister is because he has not adapted to his changed circumstances and continues to look, often curiously defiantly, like a political fish out of water.

Yet there remains a public view, despite the Luxon experience, that it takes no special skills to be a successful politician, and that virtually anyone can do the job, regardless of their background. It is the same sort of thinking that lies behind the ACT Party's recruitment of high-profile broadcaster Paul Henry as a candidate.

Without deriding Henry's broadcasting capabilities, it is worth noting that few people with impressive external backgrounds have made the transition to become successful politicians. Key and Steven Joyce would be the obvious examples of recent years, but others are few and far between. 

Henry's selection invites comparison with that of another high-profile broadcaster, Pam Corkery, who was elected to Parliament in 1996 as an Alliance MP. She quit after just one term, saying she found Parliamentary life frustrating and less rewarding than she had expected. Within minutes of his announcement as a candidate Henry was dismissing Parliament as "full of twats", suggesting that he too will quickly feel the same frustrations as Corkery did.

The point external stars recruited to Parliamentary parties often fail to grasp is that Parliament, and by extension government, is an environment unlike any other. It is unforgiving and constant, and its essentially collaborative processes leave little room or tolerance for excessive displays of individualism. That is because Parliament is basically a forum for the expression of diverse opinions, often to the point of tedium, but nevertheless critical to a functioning democracy. The real work of government occurs elsewhere – in Cabinet, its committees and select committees – where once again collaboration and compromise, sometimes accompanied by long and thankless hours of debate, are the order of the day, rather than flashy displays of self-proclaimed individual brilliance.

It could be argued that Winston Peters is the counter-factual to that point. After all, he has successfully carried off flashiness and shameless self-promotion like no other since the 1970s. However, that been less the explanation of his success than his deep understanding and application of how politics works.

And here is where New Zealanders’ contradictory views of politicians come together. They may not like Peters or what he stands for, but they acknowledge him as a skilled political operator. By contrast, in Luxon’s case, while his business background is known, he is not seen as a skilled politician, hence the criticism of him as Prime Minister. Unlike Peters, he is not behaving the way they think a politician should behave.

Corkery and Luxon expected Parliament to bend to their wills because of their backgrounds. Key, on the other hand, quickly worked out that while his impressive background was a significant asset, it had to be tailored to fit the Parliamentary environment, if he was to be successful.

Paul Henry may well to be an attractive vote-catcher for the ACT Party, at least in the run-up to the election, which is presumably why he has been selected. However, experience suggests that of itself is no automatic guarantor that a successful or substantial political career is about to follow.