Written By: - Date published: 5:28 pm, July 29th, 2010 - 241 comments
Categories: labour, phil goff -
Tags: chris carter
It sounds like Chris Carter has shot himself in the foot, or rather in the handwriting. Phil Goff and the caucus look like they have taken the required quick and decisive action.
MP Chris Carter has been suspended from the Labour Party after admitting to sending an anonymous letter claiming there is a plot to overthrow leader Phil Goff.
“His actions were stupid and disloyal,” Labour leader Phil Goff told a press conference this afternoon.
“There are no more chances. His future in the Labour Party is at an end.”
Mr Goff said Labour’s caucus had met today and a unanimous decision was taken to suspend him from the caucus
This is annoying at many levels. But the primary one is that I can’t see any damn reason to monkey around with the leadership before the election.
“The content of his letter, while not true, was designed to damage the party I lead,” Mr Goff said in his post-press conference statement.
“It was stupid and disloyal. His actions breached caucus rules and were calculated to damage the party and the leadership. This is unacceptable to me and my caucus.
I’m not interested in having a merry-go-around of leadership as we saw at the end of the 4th Labour government. It does nothing for the party and quite a lot to damage it. Stroking individual MPs egos and having a vicarious burst of excitement mid-term may liven up parliament and the political commentators lives. However it does absolutely nothing for the hardworking volunteers within the party.
If anyone is such a dickhead as to actually thinking about this kind of stupidity, then you can expect my very vocal opposition. If you don’t like what Phil has been saying – then don’t form factional cabals or write idiotic letters. Go and argue it in caucus, inside the party, or if you really feel strongly about it – write a post here.
It will be interesting to see what Chris decides to do. Hopefully not a distracting by-election. At least if it does come to that we’ll have some fun demonstrating to National that the Mt Albert by-election was no fluke.
I hate political stupidity!
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The number of commenters, left and right, using this as a basis for predicting the defeat of the Labour party in 2011 astounds me. Labour are quite capable of winning the 2011 election, at present I’d rate them a 50/50 chance. Just like how I rate National as a 50/50 chance, at present. And it’s not that much to do with Phil Goff, or Chris Carter.
There are a couple of dumb things Labour could do to weaken their chances at present:
1. Dump Goff as leader.
2. Not expel Chris Carter.
On the subject of Goff as leader, and the rest of the Labour team.
Goff is no less capable than Key, both in terms of intellect and public persona. Key is operating at the limits of his capabilities (his accent and diction are terrible, and his main skill is appearing to deliver a message, rather than actually delivering anything) whereas Goff is working well within his capabilities. Goff needs to step up.
Key is by far and away the most capable leader of the National. There is literally no one to replace him who could actually win an election. Nor can I see anyone who will be capable for a couple of electoral cycles. When Key goes, so will National. Unlike Labour, where there are a number of people who are potential replacements for Goff. They will be fully ready to take his place after about 2012, IMO. So while the short term looks shaky for Labour, the medium to long term look pretty depressing or National.
Chris Carter has to go. Mental health issues, or whatever, this is a sad episode that reflects very poorly on him and his judgement. Should his caucus colleagues have supported him more over the last few months? I suppose so, but it seems to me in hindsight that the various commenters calling for him to go over the last year (I recall Zetetic wrote a post on the subject)or so were correct. I think I’m on record disagreeing and supporting Carter – I was wrong. Carter should have been moved on earlier by Labour. Supported, but moved on. And now, like I said before, he must go, completely.
There are a few of things that Labour can do to improve their chances of winning in 2011.
1. Labour have to work together, as a team, with what they have. It is too close to the election to change leadership.
2. Labour have to present themselves as an alternative to National. This means getting out and into the public eye, regularly, with consistent and coherent messages. The time for introspection and self-examination is almost at an end. IMO it is time to stop trying to find faults with National – because most of the current crop of National ministers are performing adequately at best, and are presenting opportunity after opportunity to present Labour as different, and better. There is no need to actively look for faults, just accept and capitalise on the fuck-ups that National regularly gift.
My concern is that National already know they can not win in 2014, so a victory for them in 2011 will result in a huge rush of poorly thought-through, ideologically driven legislation as they prepare for a couple of terms in opposition against a very competent Labour government. And NZ doesn’t deserve three years of National with the idea that they have a mandate to not swallow dead rats. So, for any Labour MPs that read this, please get your shit together and get your party into a position where they can send National back to the opposition benches in 2011. Start now.
Most posters on this board seem to agree that National will go for broke if it wins the next election.
A big problem, it seems to me, is that Goff, (and maybe even most of the Labour Party) is positioned very close to, and often exactly where Key is pretending to be on the political spectrum. Which makes much of National’s rhetoric very difficult for Goff to oppose. So he’s stuck with having to try and point out inconsistencies between what Key says and what he does, rather than being able to present those “consistent and coherent” opposing messages.
And the lack of having anything significantly different to offer to what Key espouses (which is different to what Key actually believes) is a large part of Goff’s image problem. It’s not all about biased media, and “charisma”, and media savvy. He can’t get the public’s attention if he has stuff-all to say, apart from occasional salvoes in the bidding war with National for the votes of the comfortable and aspirational, and pot-shots at Keys integrity. I think this is also part of the problem with Goffs lack of passion. It must be all but impossible to breathe fire into a debate in which you mostly agree with what your opponents are saying.
I really hope that Labour will provide a true progressive Left vision for the country.
The old strategy of trying to win by essentially positioning Labour as National Lite, i.e. Left but only marginally, of National, is a failure.
Ultimately, come election time, i reckon it’ll boil down to the same worm track that foisted the self serving immaculately coiffurred muppet Peter Dunne on us.
If Goff can stick Key on the issues, his flipflops and track record of broken promises in a leaders debate, win the public confidence and convince us that he’s got more to offer, then he’s got a shot.
The easiest way to derail that though would be to include Uncle Winny in on the debate cos then no one would come out smelling good.
It’s the classic case of never wrestle with a pig. You both end up covered in shit, but the pig likes it and like it or not, Winny is the champion pig wrestler.
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Goff is no less capable than Key, both in terms of intellect and public persona.
This is a perfect example of the head-in-the-sand denial that exists on the left at the moment.
Seriously? You think Goff matches up to Key in public persona?
Goff: a guy who’s never worked a real job in his life, who was part of the team responsible for some of the country’s most hated political and economic reforms, who is presently sitting on a preferred-PM rating of about 5%.
Key: a self-made multi-millionaire who grew up in a State house with a solo mum on the DPB, who has no political baggage, and who constantly polls above 50% in preferred-PM.
You think those are comparable public personae for a couple of politicians, do you? You think voters consider those two men about equal as far as personalities go, do you?
DREAMING.
I would call the freezing works a real man’s job, and who worked there, why Phil Goff did.
Part of the team yes, but also a changed man, it’s ancient history as far as I’m concerned.
Phil has a good personality – nothing wrong with it.
I worked part-time on a farm when I was at University. I don’t put it on my CV though. And I don’t take credit for being a farmer either.
But you have to admit that both farm work and freezing work are real jobs.
“Seriously? You think Goff matches up to Key in public persona/”
Try reading what I wrote again – you quoted it, after all. Phil Goff has the capability to match and beat John Key. At present Phil Goff isn’t living up to his potential. Whereas John Key is exceeding his potential. If Phil Goff continues as he has for the last 18 months then National will very likely win the 2011 election. But if Goff works to his full capability then Labour have a reasonable shot at winning in 2011.
Then you’re using “capable” in a sense which is useless to the comparison. You might as well say that a bright 1-year-old with a pretty smile has the capability to match and beat John Key. Because the kid has potential.
John Key is “capable in public persona” in the sense of present ability. That is, John Key is “capable in public persona” in the sense that the NZ voting public overwhelmingly likes the one he has right now.
You’re asking Goff to do something he hasn’t done before, nor shown that he can. You can only lead someone somewhere, if you’ve been there before.
It’s like a rugby game where one team is down at the half by 30 nil. Yeah sure it’s possible to come back and win, but you’re asking them to stop the other team from doing what they’ve done well for the first half, and asking your team to do what they haven’t been able to do yet…score
The trick is knowing when to use your substitutions and being able to change up your gameplan. As it stands, there is nothing to suggest Goff knows when to sub or can up his game.
Or to suggest that he can’t win.
…except for them pesky polls
The most interesting aspect of this whole sorry saga , is the personal attacks on Carters mental state.
The pre emptive comments about his sacking and his supposed stress over uncleared travel.
One would have expected more sense with “employment matters” from the head of the EPMU and fellow travellers.
Carter is not a happy chappy and any legal action over his “ill treatment ‘ as an employee will blunt future attacks on employers who are deemed to be unfairly treating employees over the 90 day law