Higher standards

Andrew Little. Photo: NZ Herald
Andrew Little. Photo: NZ Herald
For the Left political bloc, progress must often feel like one step forward, two back.

Andrew Little's exercise in honesty last weekend ended up a PR disaster. There was shock at the revelation he had discussed stepping down in the face of the Labour Party's worst ever opinion polling but was supposedly now ready to ''fight on''.

Many assumed Labour had decided the lesser of two evils was to retain the unpopular leader rather than risk yet another shuffle at the top with two months to go before the general election. By Tuesday morning a new leadership team was in place in the form of former deputy and Mt Albert MP Jacinda Ardern and Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis.

The pendulum swung swiftly and severely, as ''the Jacinda effect'' took hold. Onlookers could have been forgiven for thinking Labour had won the election - not selected its umpteenth leader in a short space of time. Suddenly it seemed it was a game-changer rather than another inhouse debacle.

Is it still the honeymoon period? For a time yesterday, significant transport policy announcements by National and Labour were overshadowed by Mr Davis' television appearance alongside his new leader. He turned her new ''relentlessly positive'' message into a farce by launching into a clearly scripted personal attack on Prime Minister Bill English and other high-profile National MPs. They included describing Jonathan Coleman as ''the doctor of death'' and Gerry Brownlee ''who's got the energy of a small hill''.

It was unclear whether he was being humorous, or playing attack dog and foil to Ms Ardern, who seemed awkward and tried to mitigate the damage with some joking.

The pair and the party may have finally worked out that personality matters, but stooping to personal low-blows seems ill-judged, particularly when Ms Ardern has held her head high in the wake of sexist comments made about her by commentators, and given rival politicians have been largely respectful of her since her appointment.

Once again, as has so often happened with Labour, at least some of the news cycle will not be spent getting across a major policy message it so desperately needs to be heard by undecided voters - and the non-voters of the previous election whose numbers could make a world of difference to the struggling party.

Meanwhile, another slip-up has sullied the supposed Memo of Understanding between Labour and the Greens, and made potential post-election deal-making awkward.

The Greens seemed to be weathering the storm after co-leader Metiria Turei's revelations she committed benefit fraud while a young solo mother in the 1990s in order to survive. While the legal and moral ramifications outraged some, it galvanised the conversation around inequality. It seemed likely Ms Turei would be forgiven - possibly even rewarded - at the polls.

However, by not immediately offering to repay the money, she has become involved in a Work and Income investigation, and more details of her circumstances at the time the fraud occurred have emerged.

The latest revelation, that she lied about her address in order to vote for a friend in a different electorate, stretches her credibility. Even though the events were in the past, her current judgement as an elected representative is in question.

Many will believe it was only on Labour's insistence that she relinquished any claim on a ministerial post in a Labour-led government. Voters have every right to wonder whether her refusal to step down as co-leader (a role which comes with a handsome salary) is further evidence of a pattern of entitlement.

Like it or not, few MPs have the John ''Teflon'' Key factor. A member of a values-based party that demands transparency and accountability of others will - rightly or wrongly - be judged to a higher standard of integrity.

 

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