You can’t sit tall in the saddle of a high horse when you’re telling lies. This last week has been devastating for Labour, after Chris Carter stated what was on the mind of not only their membership and supporters, but also the voting public – cite the polls. Any student of politics knows that only two New Zealand governments have been given the boot after only one term. That was Walter Nash’s in 1960 after the Black Budget and Bill Rowling’s government after Norman Kirk died in 1975. It seems pretty obvious that had those two events not occurred, those administrations would have been re-elected.
Even across the Tasman, the last one term government was in the 1930’s. The fact is that Kiwis and Aussies don’t like election campaigns and would rather not chop and change governments. They like certainty and consistency and have only given a government the boot when they decide they’ve had a gutsful of an administration. Then all the accumulated gaffs, trips, stumbles and re-starts are stacked up against the incumbents and the slide starts – and ends in a change of administration.
So Chris Carter decided to create a few sneaky leaks. He took envelopes printed with something like “from the Minister of Finance” and in his own handwriting addressed anonymous letters to the press gallery, foretelling of a coup to over throw Phil Goff as leader of the Labour Party. When confronted with the treason by Goff et al, Carter denied any part. That was only until it was pointed out that his handwriting appeared on the envelope. Carter, having been in parliament 17 years, has handwriting very familiar to the Labour Party frontbenchers.
No media has shoved a microphone under Carter’s nose though and asked why he lied by denying he sent the letters. If he is so proud to have taken the stand, and to quote the man himself, “if it takes my political career to remove Phil Goff then so be it – I’m quite happy about that,” why not proudly claim the moral high ground? The fact is he had been caught and had no choice but to admit the crime.
The big problem for Phil Goff now is that he’s drawn a fairly black line by saying there is no place in the Labour Party for Carter – but Carter faithful don’t want him to go. Huge numbers of the party faithful are musing “He’s only saying what we’ve been thinking.” Now the wannabe leader, Party President Andrew Little, is using this to his advantage by talking about “stress” and “pressure” which relates to Carter having to carry the can for his ridiculous antics with international travel expenses, and then hiding behind a gay-bashing quote. When he knew more expenses stuff was about to splash with the next release of member’s expenses, he dropped the bomb last week.
Now apparently on sick leave for two months, he hides behind a mask which cynically seeks to align his meltdown to mental illness. Those with genuine health concerns will see this for what it really is – and all because of one little lie.
If Chris Carter had admitted his scepticism of Goff’s leadership and his advice to the media, he’d have some integrity left, but he didn’t and so he doesn’t.
