In the run-up to the 1996 election, Peters gave what came to be known as his Asian Invasion speech. Luxon described the comments as racist and outrageous but said Peters continued to have his confidence as Foreign Minister. It is a trope among New Zealand’s political journalists to comment on the two Winston Peters: the rough-and-tumble populist at home and the dignified hard-working statesman on the world stage. In his maiden speech, Xu-Nan noted that the word democracy came from the Greek root demos — people — and kratos – power. The Winston Peters of his maiden speech — nearly five decades ago — had some prescient thoughts on the energy crisis kicked off by the Iranian revolution of 1979.