Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Manila. Photo: RNZ / Craig McCulloch
Power Play - Prime Minister Christopher Luxon can leave Southeast Asia confident he has hit his KPIs - but with some room for improvement - as he wraps up his first major prime ministerial trip abroad.
Asked for his own assessment of the visit, Luxon said he was returning home "excited and energised".
Indeed, Luxon's personal energy was remarked on by members of the travelling business delegation, impressed by his enthusiasm through a busy programme in punishing temperatures.
One told RNZ they had expected a pale imitation of Sir John Key - in their words, a Sam Cane to Key's Richie McCaw - but had been won over and believed Luxon's presence would help them close a new deal.
His corporate experience showed in his ease across the many business environments - breakfast panels, roundtables, MOU signings, and the like.
He has attended trips like this before as chief executive of Air New Zealand, and he knows Southeast Asia well having frequently visited all three countries.
At times, the tour seemed like a return to the campaign trail, as Luxon worked the room and collected selfies with prospective investors. Early in the trip, he described his role as a "salesman-in-chief".
The business feedback was not exclusively effusive.
During a brief lunchtime feedback session, Comvita chair Brett Hewlett critiqued the use of the constant refrain that NZ was now "open for business", describing it as "unhelpful" given the country had never been closed for business.
Speaking to media later, Luxon brushed off the comments and said the coalition was simply bringing more intensity and ambition.
There is a lesson there, though, in targeting messaging for different audiences. On another occasion, Luxon almost referred to the public as "consumers".
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has a Singaporean street food breakfast with local social media influencer Aiken Chia. Photo: RNZ / Craig McCulloch
As well, he and his team carved out time on each stop to create social media content - a street market feed in Singapore, a Tuk Tuk tour in Bangkok, and a chicken joint visit in Manila. The value of those TikToks to the wider New Zealand brand is unclear.
While these trips are often described as "business missions", they are, of course, as much about diplomacy and foreign policy. On that count, Luxon is still very much a novice. This was his first prime ministerial trip outside Australasia and his first experience of the grand military welcomes.
By and large, he handled the leader-to-leader relations well and seemed to quickly build rapport.
He told RNZ he considered it a key aspect of his job to establish those relationships at a "top-to-top level" to open up more opportunities for the country.
Christopher Luxon presents Philippines President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr with an All Blacks jersey with his name on it. Photo: Daniel Brunskill
Luxon had clearly hit it off with the Philippines President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, after an earlier brief exchange over dinner in Australia.
That encounter had an obvious impact with both leaders this week repeatedly referencing how much they and their spouses had gotten along.
On other occasions though, in Singapore and Thailand, Luxon's tactile manner came across as overly familiar, particularly his habit of placing his hand on leaders' backs.
Luxon's limitations were also shown up by his somewhat-role-model Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong in their joint media conference in Singapore.
Asked for his views on the developing situation in the Middle East, Lee gave a refreshingly direct and eloquent assessment of the geostrategic environment, the risks, and the outlook.
It was followed by Luxon nodding in agreement and remarking: "Pretty good."
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon meets with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong at the Istana. Photo: Dan Brunskill
Luxon would do well to adopt some of Lee's candour. Luxon has a frustrating habit - like Jacinda Ardern before him - of side-stepping tricky questions by ignoring them altogether and falling back on practised talking points.
This was most apparent when discussing the Middle Eastern crisis, as he struggled to explain why New Zealand had condemned Iran's strike but not Israel's initial provocation.
On other thorny matters, like the South China Sea, Luxon was better prepared and responded to the questions more deftly.
Here's hoping Luxon doesn't take lessons from the leaders of Thailand or the Philippines, neither of whom took any questions at all from media at their supposed "press conferences".
The trip overall was light on significant "deliverables" with major announcements seemingly being saved for looming anniversary years.
But before the trip had even kicked off, analysts were describing it as a win given the lack of attention New Zealand had given to the region in recent decades.
Luxon's latest to-do list promised to raise the energy of international engagements. Already, he can probably cross that off.
The prime minister is set to arrive back in New Zealand early Sunday.
