Is Kiri’s car crash different?

Kiri Allan has made no excuses for her car crash after consuming alcohol. She apologized for the impact of the incident on political colleagues and friends (not the incident itself) and resigned immediately.

Yet many others have made explanations on her behalf. There has been lots of understanding about her “personal issues”.

But there is no outrage carried, yet, from the political establishment or media.

This is interesting because the lone driver that hit a parked car was the nation’s Minister of Justice and had consumed alcohol over the lowest legal threshold. We may have expected that outrage, or the level of interest, would have been at least similar to misdeeds by other MPs.

One measurement of interest is time under discussion. The Allan incident occupied barely 24 hours (though there may be more yet) before changing into a discussion of the future of the Labour government.

In contrast, my quick check of similar car crash incidents by Western politicians in the past year found an average issue time of 3-5 days (see examples below).

The 24 hours media gave to Kiri's alcohol-related crash is shorter than the time it spent covering matters related to complaints about her behaviour to staff and others – which stretched over weeks.?

One factor we consider in PR is the environmental context – what is going on in society. If current social discourse is about an issue related to the incident, reaction is likely to be stronger.?

In NZ, alcohol consumption, particularly when driving, is a constant issue. One News reported just last month that drink-driving fatalities had hit a 10-year high. In May, the Government launched an anti-drink-driving campaign. An official said ‘drink drivers’ needed to see themselves as ‘drunk drivers’. This battle against drink-driving has not appeared to influence or increase coverage of the Allan incident.??

PR people also assess the risk of response based on the potential for hubris. Interestingly, last year Kiri Allan made considerable play about changing laws on alcohol sales, saying alcohol was “ingrained in our culture”, but she wasn’t afraid of alcohol lobbyists. This assertiveness against alcohol culture and availablity hasn’t featured in commentary.?

If these factors haven't been significant, what is different about this crash or the driver that would lead to such a muted response?

It’s clear from talking points that Allan’s state of mind is considered by commentators to be a major contributing factor to the accident. While it is an explanation, particularly of why she was drinking or maybe of why she has been charged with "reckless driving" - it appears to be acting as an excuse that moderate the reaction. This may be because mental health is a major social and political issue. It is often used to explain errant behaviour, along with a demand for compassion.

Perhaps Kiri’s private life is relevant. The upside of it has been extensively covered, and may have had a role in mitigating coverage of this event.

The fact that no one was hurt is important. It would be much harder to sustain excuses if another person had been seriously harmed.?

The "fiery end" story line may also be operating here. By that I mean the crash turned Allan's travails into a story by adding an 'end' to a plot where someone's life went off track. Not necessarily true or accurate, but it's a neat fit for our narrative-hungry minds.

Also pertinent is an extraordinarily rapid closure via virtually immediate resignation and apologies. Often this does not work because media and public can feel denied of blood letting. Sometimes they are motivated to look further into the matter.

Perhaps all these factors have interacted to effectively skip the recrimination stage of the event. It’s a fascinating course for a political issue which in most other circumstances would have played out very differently.

?

Note:

Examples of coverage of driving incidents involving public officials in past year: An Australian Mayor who crashed an hour after meeting families of drink-driving victims (profile and hubris), a Victorian State MP who crashed into a fence while two times the legal limit, a Canadian Senator, a City Councilor who hit a cyclist, and another who crashed into a house while driving without a license, a head of Port Administration who left the scene, and a state official who crashed into a parked car and left the scene.??????