Danyl thinks the Labour Party's problem is that it's "full of hysterical simpletons", on the strength of a silly piece written in the Herald on Saturday by David Hawkins, a Cunliffe supporter.
But as excruciatingly silly as the Hawkins piece is, it's just one person's opinion.
It's also a partisan opinion that a journo sought out. I know this because I was asked to write a piece in favour of one of the candidates for the same issue of the Herald. I had to decline, because they wanted me to pick sides and I didn't want to.
If you go hunting for dissension and controversy you'll find it in any political party if you dig deep enough.
Every political party has its share of over-excited partisans. They're usually young, and they see things in black and white.
A party that doesn't have this type in large numbers is probably on the path to extinction.
Elsewhere, predictions are being made that Labour may end up regretting the openness of its leadership contest, because a bunch of people have posted strong opinions on The Standard. And yet The Standard is no more representative of the Labour rank and file than Kiwiblog is representative of National's mainstream membership. Both sites attract heated, excited commentary, usually from the same handful of people.
I know many non-Labour people are praying that the losing candidate will go feral, but I suspect there will be little tolerance for dissent or whining within the party once the contest has ended. The process has been more open than in previous years (although it would be even better if members got to vote), and efforts have been made to give party members the chance to see and to question the candidates. If after all of that some MPs do not get behind the new leader I suspect their colleagues will shun them.
That probably won't prevent a flood of excitable and outraged posts from supporters of the loser on The Standard or Red Alert, and I fully expect to read predictions of doom and disaster, of various plagues of frogs, lice, boils and hail, and of the extinction of the Labour Party as a political force.
My own bold prediction is that none of those things will come to pass.
Monday, December 12, 2011
3 comments:
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The frogs themselves are nearly extinct, so it's unlikely that enough can get together to create a plague.
ReplyDeleteI was at the meeting as well. I found the exercise very useful in forming my opinion on who should be leader. But I don't feel compelled to rush off to the internet to share it with the world. It is an internal decision private to the NZLP, and in my view private decisions should be discussed privately or in forums where it is appropriate to express your free and frank opinions on the matter.
ReplyDeleteYou forgot locusts.
ReplyDeleteThere are always locusts in plagues, at least the ones I have organise.