THE JOHN KEY LOVE FESTIVAL!

There'll be jolly banter and laughs all round when the Prime Minister hosts his own radio show on Friday. What a guy!

Tailback radio is, of course, the home of beneficiary bashing and Radio Live is no exception.

Its through right wing hosts like Michael Laws that the bashing has continued despite the fact that MediaWorks - who own Radio Live - have been recipients of corporate welfare on a grand scale.

Readers will no doubt recall that the debt-ridden MediaWorks received a whopping $43.3 million 'deferred loan' from the Government to enable it to renew its radio broadcasting licences for the next 20 years.

This is on the top of the three FM frequencies it received for nothing from the previous Labour Government and which are now occupied by a station that nobody listens to - Kiwi FM.

But if John Key is going to scratch MediaWorks back, then its only right that MediaWorks scratch John Key's back as well.

Tomorrow the Prime Minister will be hosting a one-hour show on Radio Live. He'll be joined by the All Black captain Richie McCaw and wealthy British businessman Richard Branson, who either knowingly or unknowingly , will be doing their little bit to ensure Johnny gets re-elected in November.

I'm sure they will be some planted callers as well. Indeed, according to Labour's Clare Curran, Radio Live is only gong to accept non-political questions from callers. Which, of course, will allow Key to show us all what a swell guy he is.

To complete the Friday afternoon John Key Love Festival, the Prime Minister will be followed by the former National Party candidate and all-round right wing prat, Paul Henry. He hosts Radio Live's 3-6pm show.

I don't often agree with Clare Curran but I think she's right when she says of Key's radio show: ''We're entering an election campaign and I think that all the media outlets have to be very careful about how they're managing their media coverage. The fact that we're so close to an election, we're not in a formal election period but we may as well be, I think that it's very questionable.'