Grant Robertson's book "reveals him finally as not much more than a political operator, without very much substance at all."

"I got home ... at 1:30 on Saturday morning and by 3:30 [Sunday] afternoon I’d finished Grant Robertson’s new book, 'Anything Could Happen,' and in between I’d been to two film festival movies, a 60th birthday party, and church. It is that sort of book....

"[Y]ou will search in vain for any serious insight or reflection on the politics, politicians, or policies of the 20 years or so in which Robertson was first a staffer, then an Opposition MP, and then a senior minister and close confidante of the Prime Minister. He was Labour’s finance spokesperson and Minister of Finance for, in total, just under 10 years (Minister for six of them), and had been Labour’s spokesperson on economic development for a while before that. ... and yet in this book you will look in vain for any distinct Robertson perspective on events or issues or institutions or individuals relating to that portfolio or (mostly) for any perspective at all. ...

"Clark, Cullen, even Anderton, and of course behind the scenes Heather Simpson. Do we learn anything about them from this book (written by someone who was actually a student of political science, before himself becoming a senior player)? Barely at all.... no critical evaluation of any of them [neither Labour colleagues nor National opponents] and not even any insight on what made key players tick. ...

"And, of course, there is nothing at all on the structural fiscal deficit Robertson bequeathed to his successors ... Not even a rueful reflection on the contrast between those Budget Responsibility Rules he and James Shaw had launched (to the upset of the left of their own parties) back in Opposition in March 2017 and the way it all ended. ...

[P]erhaps it reveals him finally as not much more than a political operator, without very much substance at all."

~ Michael Reddell, from his post 'Reading Grant Robertson'