Our political rituals are fluid.
In recent memory it has been the pilgrimage to Ratana that marks the beginning of the political year. But this year the hui at Tuurangawaewae, and the recalcitrant Seymour also got into the frame and shifted the picture.
An age ago, the Prime Minister would put on his suit for the Ellerslie races, then back to Hatfields Beach and his lawnmower, and then he would roll down to the Orewa Rotary Club to reveal the State of the Nation.
