Minister’s tweets tone deaf

it was a lovely day for cruising the Waitemata Harbour last Thursday.

But Wagner’s actual words on Twitter were so off-key that it’s hard to see how she would not know they would offend: "Busy day with disability meetings in Auckland – rather be out on the harbour!"

The final exclamation mark only served to emphasise the insult to people with disabilities everywhere – the people she is paid to work for in Cabinet.

The tweet seemed to go largely unnoticed for 48 hours before it was picked up and shared on Saturday, and then roundly condemned in an entirely predictable Twitter storm yesterday.

Some of the ripostes were unprintable.Unwisely, Wagner tried to double-down on her comments, saying it had been a gorgeous day and "we all would have rather had the meetings out on the harbour". Another bad call.Finally, Wagner saw sense and apologised "for any offence I have caused".

Among other recent tweets, Wagner has been crowing about poorer opinion poll showings for the Labour Party and its leader, Andrew Little. But there are now fewer than 100 days before the general election, and the polls also suggest National will not command a majority.

In this environment, every vote counts and one of the ways National can lose them is by appearing to be arrogant, insensitive or insincere – exactly the words being bandied about yesterday in response to Wagner’s tweets and half-hearted apology.

Prime Minister Bill English defended her, saying "no-one would believe that Nicky Wagner set out to be offensive". Strictly speaking, he may be right.The backlash in the hundreds of comments online suggested people thought otherwise.

Social media is important nowadays in setting the political tone, as the embattled US President Donald Trump ought to be learning, but isn’t.

Public perception is also crucial. British Prime Minister Theresa May’s image took a career-limiting hammering before and after the recent United Kingdom election. Her debate no-shows, aloofness and refusal to meet the victims and bereaved at the site of London’s Grenfell Tower fire disaster have put her political future in jeopardy.

Wagner’s discomfort may or may not be short-lived, but right now this controversy will be sapping energy away from National’s run towards polling day on September 23. Confidence in Wagner’s judgment has also been called into question.