Flogging a dead horse

3 News reports:

Labour leader Phil Goff says anyone who suggests he’s facing a leadership challenge is flogging a dead horse.

The party’s caucus is meeting for the first time since reports were leaked that Mr Goff offered to step down at a front bench meeting.

The problem for Labour in trying to close this issue down, is its own MPs keep igniting it. You had the front-bencher who leaked about the offer, and at least two other MPs who commented on it. And then look at what Shane Jones said on The Nation this weekend:

Duncan        So if you win the seat you have said that you want to play a bigger role in the party?

Shane          Sure.

It isn’t generally the done thing for MPs to declare in advance of an election they expect a bigger role if they win their seat.

Duncan        So just back to my question.  If you wanted to play a greater role, define that greater role for me.

Shane          Oh no I certainly want to recover my position on to the front bench, but anything beyond that it’s with the caucus and it’s for the future mate.

About as clear a statement as you can get he wants the leadership in the future. Again it is very rare for an MP to be that open about their ambitions.
Duncan        And you’re suggesting someone in the caucus has leaked?

 Shane          No I have no evidence that a person in the caucus has leaked, I certainly know it wasn’t me cos I’m not on the front bench, but the fact to wake up when you’re trying to win votes and to read in the newspaper such a story about our leader, it causes my Slavic blood to boil

A very clear statement that he is not the leak as he was not on the front bench, and that he is peeved at who did it.

Duncan        Now suggestions I’m getting out of Wellington being around the press gallery is that there are some camps now starting to set up in the Labour caucus camp.  Cunliffe we’ll call one and Camp David Parker the other.  What have you heard?

 Shane          No, no no I don’t think so.  I think that both of them are very ambitious and they’ve got a lot to offer the Labour Party etc.

 Duncan        Does Cunliffe have leadership qualities?

 Shane          Well what he needs to do at the moment for all of us, and that’s what he’s promising he’s gonna do for us, is go and sell our economic policy.  I understand David to have said on numerous occasions he’s a team player and he’s gonna tautoko or support Annette King and Phil Goff.  Now what happens in the future we need to talk to him about that, but there’s really no – there’s no scope for this fratricide or there’s no scope for feeding the media’s appetite in wanting to turn this election into a Labour Party leadership fight, it’s a joke.

Now that looks to me like a bit of a slap towards Cunliffe – basically saying go concentrate on selling the economic policy.

Duncan        Have you given up your leadership ambitions?

Shane          Yeah no, I was – well I was flattered to be compared to JT and Winston etc.  But those ambitions of mine have dimmed.

Duncan        Dimmed or gone?

Shane          Oh, no they’re at a very low ebb.

Duncan        Have they gone?

Shane          Oh that’ll depend on how well I do in Tamaki Makaurau.

Again as clear a statement as you can get that he will stand for the leadership after the election if he wins his seat.

Now back to Phil, Stuff reports:
Labour Leader Phil Goff is refusing to accept his party’s poor popularity saying its bad polling is because people aren’t focused on the issues.
No Right Turn comments:
Phil Goff’s excuse for his latest round of poor polling? “People aren’t focused on the issues”. But before Labour hacks engage in another round of “blame the voters”, I think we should ask: whose fault is that?

To point out the obvious, getting people to care about “the issues” so that they are energised and mobilised to vote is a core task of a political party. If people aren’t focused on Labour’s chosen issues, then that tells us that the Labour Party is doing a piss-poor job. Either they’ve chosen their issues badly, or they’re communicating them poorly (and in particular, worse than the government). But either way, it is not the voters who are at fault, but the party. And blaming the voters for the party’s failure just adds to the perception that Labour is arrogant.

Now just 89 days to go.

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