The art of self-promotion

Gaynz.com has an article on the achievements of Charles Chauvel. A number of people have suggested to me that the list is so detailed that it must have been written by Charles himself. Some extracts:

February 2013: Parliament unanimously supported his resolution to condemn proposed homophobic legislation in Uganda in Nigeria, after National had earlier blocked his attempt due to, well, politics.

Oh what an achievement. He managed to get Parliament to spend 10 seconds allowing him to read out a motion. And it failed the first time not due to politics, but because he failed to let the whips know that he intended to seek leave. The way the article is written is why it looks like Charles compiled it himself.

August 2012: Ruffled conservative feathers when he asked anti-abortion group Right to Life to send him its rules, so he could see whether it actually has a mandate to comment on the issue of marriage equality.

Asked a group for a copy of its rules? That seriously counts as an achievement?

A similar passion for rivial detail can be seen in Chauvel’s Wikipedia article. Despite never being a Minister, his Wikipedia page is more detailed than 99% of MPs, including his own leader. It includes details which are not generally publicly known such as how his grandparents moved from Scotland and started a dance company!!! It has numerous direct quotes from him, includes details such as how he once wrote a guest post for No Right Turn, and even lists four SOPs he wrote on a climate change bill. It’s the sort of detail you expect on Obama’s Wikipedia page, not a fairly obscure List MP. Oh the page also has the in depth analysis of a bill he wrote, which was never even drawn in his name.

Now of course it is all possible that in both cases these incredibly detailed lists of achievements have nothing to do with Charles.

But I do recall how in 2011 he was found out writing letters to the editor praising his efforts as an MP, and asking friendly lawyers to send them in under his name.

Incidentally it was people in Labour who pointed out to me some time ago the obviously self-authored Wikipedia page. His self-promotion efforts are the stories of legend by various Labour people.