As his pulling of a waitress’s ponytail goes to show, when it comes to awkward interactions and break-outs of foot-in-mouth, the New Zealand prime minister John Key gives his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, a run for his money

The Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, has bitten into a raw onion as though it were an apple and tented his fingers like a real-life Mr Burns in a St Patrick’s Day video that managed to patronise not only the Irish but also, obscurely, the Vietnamese – but, when it comes to awkward interactions and break-outs of foot-in-mouth, his New Zealand counterpart arguably gives him a run for his money.

New Zealand prime minister John Key apologises for pulling waitress's hair Read more

John Key, leader of the National party and seven months into his third term as prime minister of New Zealand, on Wednesday apologised for pulling a waitress’s hair at an Auckland cafe in March, explaining that it occurred “in the context of a bit of banter”. In an anonymous blog post, the waitress said Key repeatedly tugged on her “tantalising” ponytail, having approached making “scary, suspense sound effects, like the music from the movie Jaws”. There were “a lot of fun and games” and “practical jokes” at the cafe, the prime minister explained to media.

But this is not the first time Key has misjudged a social interaction since becoming prime minister of New Zealand in 2008 – it’s not even the first time he’s pulled someone’s hair.

Here are a few highlights, full of so many great memories for Kiwis:

The cannibalism joke

In 2010, Key was forced to apologise for suggesting a Maori tribe might “have him for dinner”, which he described as a “light-hearted joke”. The prime minister was addressing a tourism conference when he made a reference to an ongoing dispute between the government and the Tuhoe iwi rooted in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi between Britain and Maori chiefs. “The good news was that I was having dinner with Ngati Porou as opposed to their neighbouring iwi, which is Tuhoe, in which case I would have been the dinner, which wouldn’t have been quite so attractive.”

‘I’ve had a vasectomy’

For those who were unaware of, or had happily forgotten about, the time the prime minister brought up his vasectomy at a press conference: apologies.

Planking

tayla (@taybrrad) new zealand prime minister john key condones planking pic.twitter.com/h1cEhBDmYn

Never one to miss out on a short-lived social media craze, John Key posed for this awkward, even ominous photo with his son Max “planking” on Facebook, prompting New Zealand media to ask “Did John Key kill planking meme?” before deciding, quickly, “yes”.

Popping bottles

Max and Key teamed up again on the former’s 18th birthday, when a photo of the two of them posing with a bottle of Moët each did the rounds on social media. There’s nothing wrong with that – and Key was quick to explain he didn’t finish the bottle himself – but it perhaps wasn’t the best look for a politician sometimes criticised for his lack of sympathy for the less well-off. In any case, it was more meat for the meme machine.

‘Mincing’ down the runway

Though Key said he enjoyed getting in touch with his “metrosexual side” at the time, he later admitted his cringeworthy catwalk display of rugby World Cup merchandise was “probably a bit stupid”.

‘Troatie’

John Key’s opening speech for the 2011 rugby World Cup was marred by his mispronunciation of the word “trophy”, a slip of the tongue he was perhaps unfairly reminded of for months to come.

Three-way handshake

The All Blacks’ World Cup victory against France was made all the more memorable by Key’s enthusiastic awkward three-way handshake with All Blacks captain/national treasure Richie McCaw and World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset – and the memes it went onto inspire.

‘Gay red top’

In 2012, Key berated radio broadcaster Jamie Mackay for wearing a “gay red top”, putting it forth as evidence that the Farming Show host would never be able to shoot a hole-in-one. “You’re going to be nervous when you line up in those par threes now, aren’t you. You’re munted mate, you’re never going to make it. You’ve got that gay red top on there.” The slur earned him a telling-off from Sir Ian McKellen, or, as he is known in New Zealand, Gandalf.

‘Galloping colonial clot’

Key was described as a “galloping colonial clot” by the Daily Mail for breaking royal protocol and posting a photo of his personal visit with the Queen in the Balmoral home. “‘They were extremely generous hosts and we had a fantastic weekend,” Key wrote, as if he were filing a report for TripAdvisor,” said the Mail. “Still, he meant well.”

The Young Nats’ Ball

Like all good people’s politicians, Key is known for his tolerance for, even enjoyment of, selfies, but the true test of his endurance is the annual Young Nats’ Ball, at which he maintains a fixed smile and thousand-yard stare with the professionalism and good humour of a member of One Direction. Regardless of one’s political leanings, the resulting images are spellbinding – to quote Guardian correspondent Toby Manhire: “The album, which has been publicly made available on Facebook, is enthralling. As someone said, it is art.”

‘Not sorry for being a man’

Key was accused of making light of domestic violence when he was photographed wearing a T-shirt that read “I’m not sorry for being a man”, a reference to a speech made by the Labour party leader David Cunliffe at a Women’s Refuge symposium, when he apologised on behalf of his gender “because family and sexual violence is perpetrated overwhelmingly by men against women and children”. The T-shirt was inevitably doctored on social media afterwards:

Tommy Ill (@tommy_ill) Hey @johnkeypm this is kinda how your T looks to folks who paid attention to the whole "sorry for being a man" speech pic.twitter.com/2u8wqt1ELp

Gangnam Style

Of course – the invisible horse.