The depth of loyalty for Labour Party members will be sorely tested during the next month as four contenders chase the poisoned chalice that has become the leadership of the troubled party.
Since former prime minister Helen Clark left in 2008, three ''male, pale and stale'' leaders have overseen the further decline of the once proud party which will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary.
It was inevitable the last leader, David Cunliffe, would need to stand down from the leadership challenge after overseeing what has been labelled the party's worst defeat in September.
But it has taken some sharp talking behind the scenes for Mr Cunliffe to see reason, withdraw from the race while endorsing former party president and union leader Andrew Little. Mr Little narrowly survived the election disaster, only after special votes were counted, to ensure his place in Parliament.
Two Dunedin-raised men - Grant Robertson and David Parker - are also in the race, which injects added interest for southern Labour supporters; although those numbers get fewer as each election passes.
Mr Parker, at first, was not interested in the leadership.
But, after tasting the role in an interim position, he decided to put his name forward. Mr Robertson stood unsuccessfully against Mr Cunliffe at the last leadership contest, along with former MP Shane Jones. Mr Robertson has strong caucus support, important as the contest develops and the caucus factions start to support their favourites.
The late entry of Nanaia Mahuta will be the wild card in the leadership challenge as she represents the strength of the party - the Maori vote which returned to Labour last month.
Only one Maori seat is held by the Maori Party with all the rest, including Te Tai Tokerau, the electorate previously held by Mana leader Hone Harawira, now back to Labour.
The Hauraki Waikato MP discussed her potential bid with the Maori caucus late on Tuesday before deciding to go ahead about 30 minutes before the deadline.
Labour's review of its worst election defeat in 92 years begins shortly and Ms Mahuta says some of the solutions lie within the constituency base she represents, certainly South Auckland and the Pasifika vote.
And there lies the problem for Labour. While male voters deserted the party in droves, with opinion polls showing support slumping in Auckland in particular, traditional Labour voters are disappearing across the country.
The party must wake up to this fact or remain a minor party for the foreseeable future.
While some see Ms Mahuta's candidacy as an audition for deputy leader, there is a strength to the Maori and Pasifika vote for which her entry into the challenge resonates.
The three white male candidates can talk about electing the most competent person in the front-bench roles for the depleted Labour caucus, but results must count for something
. After entering Parliament as a list MP in 1996, Ms Mahuta won her electorate in 1999 and has held it since.
Who is to say she is not the best person for the job? The party is divided even at local Labour electorate committee levels.
With four candidates being nominated by eight people, more than one-third of Labour's caucus is already divided on the next leader.
The preferential voting system means caucus and the party have 40% of the vote each on the new leader with trade union affiliates having the remaining 20%.
Surely, 32 MPs could have decided on the best person to lead them for the next three years and present a united front to the rest of the party and the public.
Alas, that seems a step too far for a party now seemingly completely out of touch with mainstream New Zealand.
The leadership is being decided without the election defeat review being completed.
No commercial organisation would take such a risk and neither should a party with any aspirations to lead the country.
When Parliament resumes, Labour will face the ridiculous situation of having an interim leader trying to lead off the Address in Reply debate.
No-one can take Labour seriously until some sort of unity prevails across all three wings of the divided and damaged party.
