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John Armstrong
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Labour Party
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Metiria Turei
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NZ First
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Russel Norman
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The Greens
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Winston Peters
John Armstrong paints a difficult picture as he sums up Labour's current electoral dilemma. Under the headline Labour steps over Greens to pick Peters he opines:
Having turned its caucus room in Parliament Buildings into a war room staffed almost around the clock by policy wonks, political strategists, experts in social media, plus assorted press secretaries - all in readiness for the coming general election - the Labour Party may find itself with another war on its hands before then. Or something close to it.
The "enemy" on this occasion will not be National. Neither will it be Act. Nor United Future. Nor Colin Craig's Conservatives. Nor even Kim Dotcom and his Internet Party.
No, this war will be of the internecine variety where the combatants all come from the same neck of the (political) woods.
It will have been sparked by the seemingly endless positioning and posturing ahead of September's election which will count for little in the aftermath. But this week it all turned ugly for the Greens. And things may yet get uglier still.
It may be that fate has decreed that the power struggle between Labour and the Greens takes centre stage at the worst possible time for the centre-left.
It may not come to open warfare. But the dismissive, almost contemptuous attitude displayed by David Cunliffe with regard to a supposed ally is bound to rankle deeply wherever Green Party members gather.
You can be assured there will be a response; that there will no longer be any scruples about upstaging Labour on the hustings.
Readers with good memories will remember how outraged Clare Curran was in 2011 that the Greens would DARE muscle in on Labour's vote. Yet that is exactly what Labour is now doing in reverse. To give the Greens credit, they campaign well, so any moves by Labour to steal votes from the Greens will not be met with silence and indifference.
Armstrong continues, noting that it is Labour which has caused this situation to develop and fester; something that the Greens have, up until now, been relatively patient about. But with an election just over five months away, time is short:
The Greens may put the stress on peace, love and understanding in the resolution of disputes. Their image may be more flower power than firepower.
But the closer the party gets to seats around the Cabinet table - and thus the exercising of real power and influence - the more the Greens are toughening up to cope with the pressures of being a coalition partner. They simply have to do so. And this week showed why.
Russel Norman, in particular, has shifted into a higher gear in terms of tenacity in both promoting and defending his party. He is now de facto leader rather than just co-leader. He grabs people's attention. And they listen. The same cannot be said for Labour's leader.
The Greens have been exceptionally patient with Labour in expectation that a centre-left victory in September will finally bring long-delayed reward.
They are acutely conscious, however, that time is running out and Labour has done precious little to fill the empty canvas on the centre-left which is Labour's failure to paint a picture in voters' minds as to how a Labour-Greens government would function and what its priorities would be.
When push comes to shove, and Labour needs the Greens in order to govern, you can bet that David Cunliffe will go to Russel and Metiria on bended knee, sincerely apologising for having ostracised them. But how will such an approach be met?
And then there's Winston Peters, not that a Labour/NZF grouping could even get close to governing on the current polling numbers. How does the Labour rank and file feel about Cunliffe climbing into bed with Winston Peters? Will they hold their noses, and pretend it isn't so?
The Left is divided at the moment, and there are no signs of division healing any time soon. Will voters risk a centre-Left coalition, knowing that at any moment it could all turn to custard? We think not.
David Cunliffe has some serious decisions to make; far more serious than his Royal tour pettiness.
