MPs under the influence

NZPA has reported on the story told by former Labour Invercargill MP Mark Peck about his battle with alcoholism.

The most startling revelation for me was that he was drunk when he announced he would not be standing again for Parliament, and that he might not have stood down otherwise. Mind you not as bad as Muldoon calling an election under the influence!

I suspect that the best thing for Mr Peck was standing down though. Parliament is not a good environment for fighting alcoholism. It’s not that the place is incredibly boozy, but the long and late hours lend themselves to situations where some drinks in the evening can be common.

Peck’s personal problems were not in fact much of a secret around Parliament. Not many secrets are well kept in and around the Beehive. There was a fair degree of sympathy for when he crashed his car and confronted his alcoholism – something which would normally be fair game for attack. And the good thing is that he has now been sober for around 18 months – as he himself said on this blog.

On a lighter note, dancing on the tables at the average National Party would not be that remarkable – the Nat parties have a good history of vigourous singing and dancing 🙂