Blame the boogie on the sunshine

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Blame the balmy weather, an idyllic Pacific atoll, a beauty queen and a friendly crowd.

Prime Minister John Key was quick to his feet in Niue when local people urged him and his wife, Bronagh, to join them in a spirited dance, with Miss South Pacific Vanessa Marsh showing them the moves.

But if Mr Key looked pleased as punch during loud applause of the crowd as he wrapped up his moves, giving his wife a peck on the cheek in celebration, doubts appeared to have set in later.

"What goes on tour stays on tour, right?" Mr Key joked with media later. Or, at least, he appeared to be joking. Dancing leaders have long been a spin doctor's nightmare -  Helen Clark doing the chicken dance lived on in political memories long after the event.

But the opposite is also true. Former Australian prime minister John Howard caused a minor flurry when he once failed to join the dance floor with other leaders at a Pacific Forum meeting.

But attire can also be a headache. At the last Pacific Forum, it was noted by some that Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd appeared to be in a dilemma over whether to wear his island-style shirt tucked in, rather than hanging out.

Niue was the second-to-last stop of the prime minister's Pacific sortie, which wraps up in the Cook Islands today.

The Niue leg gave Mr Key the opportunity to drop in on some fledgling business ventures, including one harvesting noni, a fruit that is widespread on Pacific islands and is said to have medicinal properties.

Former All Black Michael Jones, who has been flying the flag with Mr Key in the Pacific, and has interests in a noni-bottling business, admitted the juice left a bad taste, despite being good for you.

"A bit like raising taxes," was Mr Key's assessment.

But he later came up with a novel idea for the juice once he had returned home. He would empty out his liquor bottles and fill them with noni to put his teenage son Max off experimenting with booze.

- © Fairfax NZ News