The rise of Little
Audrey Young blogs:
Labour president Andrew Little has just delivered the best speech he has probably ever given.
It was to the party conference at the Aotea Centre in Auckland.
And it wasn’t so much what he said – but how he said it.
There are many doubters in Labour’s caucus that Little has what it takes to be a future leader of the party.
Andrew is not popular with a fair number of Labour MPs. Some feel he has not raised enough money, others don’t like him holding three jobs – candidates, President and union boss, and others just resent the talk that he may come in and become leader quickly.
But I have been saying for many years that I believe Andrew will become Labour Party Leader, and probably Prime Minister one day. When, is another matter, but he has time on his side.
The HoS today reports:
Andrew Little’s been widely touted to succeed Phil Goff as Labour Party leader, but yesterday he told supporters that Goff was the man to take the party to victory at next year’s election.
What happens afterwards, if Labour loses, he was not saying – Little is a frontrunner for the New Plymouth seat next year.
Goff is goneburger if Labour loses. But I think it is unlikely that Little would become leader in his first term as an MP. More likely is Cunliffe becomes Leader and if he loses in 2014 then watch for a Robertson v Little battle after that.
“One thing is certain about Phil – if he were confronted with a racist outburst he would know it and challenge it, up front, there and then,” he said, referring to Prime Minister John Key’s failure to respond immediately to broadcaster Paul Henry’s slur against the Governor-General.
Here thought Andrew could not be more wrong. Goff was even worse than Key on the issue of Paul Henry. Despite having had several hours to reflect on what Paul Henry had said, Goff’s response was a totally dismissive line about it just a case of Paul being Paul.
It amazes me how much some in Labour try to rewrite history, as they think if you tell a lie enough times it becomes the truth.