What the bloggers say!

Three well known bloggers have their say on the Mallard affair.  Okay they’re actually press gallery journalists, but I’m quoting from their blogs.  First NZ Herald’s Audrey Young:

There has to be a punishment to fit the crime. He should not do anything rash like quit the cabinet or Parliament. That would be an overreaction. But he can’t do nothing.

He should relinquish his sports portfolio, apologise to the House, and then take a decent break.

Violence on the job is not compatible with fair play or any of the attributes with which good sportsmanship is attributed.

Then Martin Kay from the Dom Post:

As Labour’s bovver boy, senior Cabinet Minister Trevor Mallard is well-known for twisting the knife in the rawest nerves of his political opponents.

It was he, remember, who first alluded in Parliament to rumours that former National leader Don Brash was having an affair – a move which caused deep and continuing resentment among National’s ranks.

Now, it seems Mallard is much less prepared to take the medicine he has so readily dished out over many years as Labour’s main attack man.

He should have expected some mud to be slung in return. Parliament’s debating chamber is, after all, oval: what goes around inevitably comes around.

And finally Colin Espiner from The Press completes the Axis of Bloggers:

Mallard has also been employed as a bovver-boy by Labour with Clark’s full backing, so it could be argued it would be a little hypocritical to sack him for getting carried away. The owner must take some blame when an attack dog goes feral, after all.

Clark will also have to consider the fact that Mallard, like Maharey, has been a stalwart of Labour’s Left, which won’t be best pleased to see the pair replaced with the centre-Right crowd banging on the door for promotion.

One thing is sure. Mallard can kiss goodbye to whatever hopes remained of taking over the leadership of the party. And he’ll get a serious dressing down. It’s another setback to the party’s recovery in the polls and the public won’t be impressed.

Indeed the balance is shifting within Labour.  David B-P, Maharey and Mallard are all from the left faction. Two of the Ministers most likely to be promoted are not with the left faction. The front bench may be quite different in a week.