GORDON LIGHTFOOT | National
A DIFFERENT KIND OF POWER
Julia Davenport, a senior comms advisor at the Ministry of Health, gave her public service street-cred a much needed boost this morning.
The 34 year old was travelling into the capital by train, when she pulled out her secret weapon for gaining Wellington-based clout – a crisp new copy of former prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s memoir, A Different Kind Of Power.
With nearby public servants watching enviously, she sat with the book open in such a way that the cover could be seen by almost everyone on the carriage. The admiration in the air was palpable, as everyone longed for the glorious days of Ardern, and the Covid 19 lockdowns. Everyone knew that Davenport was on their team.
“I could just feel the energy, the buzz, and the knowing glances from total strangers. It was like I had just 10-x’d my social status,” she recounted.
“If only some of my senior managers from MoH were there to see me reading Dame Jacinda’s book”.
Davenport says that the trigger for her buying the much-talked-about memoir was seeing an opinion piece in Stuff by Sir Ian Taylor. The piece was in the form of an “open letter to Jacinda”, which Davenport describes as “violent misinformation”.
“I don’t understand why Stuff would give a platform to someone spreading complete lies about Dame Jacinda. She did everything right based on the unprecedented circumstances, and anyone who says otherwise is a misogynist racist bigot,” she said confidently.
“But never mind all that. The important thing is that I took action and bought Dame Jacinda’s book, supporting her important mahi,” she said, despite a reported $1m advance given to the former prime minister by her publishers.
Either way, it’s clear to see that Ms. Davenport will be dining out on her new book for the foreseeable future, as her social credit score continues to skyrocket in the competitive Wellington scene.
More to come.
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