After revelations of a secret pre-caucus caucus meeting by Labour MPs to discuss Dr Gaurav Sharma's immediate future, Jacinda Ardern had only one option.
She had to be seen to be fair and that means going the long way round to deal with his potential expulsion from Labour and fromParliament.
The conditions which have been set by Ardern for the rogue MP are more than fair.
For his past week's actions, including releasing private messages from colleagues, and accusations of bullying against whips, Sharma will be suspended from the caucus. Mediation with Labour will be offered to work through relationship issues - by someone agreeable to both Sharma and Labour.
A photo of Dr Gaurav Sharma with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Parliament which he posted on Instagram in July 2021. Photo / Instagram: gmsharmanz
And if he has behaved himself, he could be back in the caucus by December when his status will be reviewed. That's the fairy tale ending.
If he gives Labour the metaphoric middle finger, he will be expelled.
Given the antipathy and lack of trust between the MP and the caucus, the middle finger looks the most likely outcome. December is 107 long days away.
The fact that Sharma did not attend the formal caucus meeting and did not return Ardern's call to convey the caucus decisions does not augur well for a happy ending.
The issue may have begun over disputes between Sharma and the whips about whether they were bullying him or he was bullying staff, but it is no longer about that. It is about trust.
Ardern justified Monday's secret caucus meeting on the grounds that MPs wanted a forum to discuss him informally without him present because they could not trust him.
The other reason that Ardern has gone for the long way round is that Sharma appears to have the support of a loyal local electorate committee. It is a highly complicating factor.
It is one thing to have a rogue MP; it is quite another to have a local electorate organisation at war with the party.
It is clear, however, that despite Ardern describing the caucus as a "forgiving" group of people, she is calling the shots and does not have patience for this to drag on.
Gaurav Sharma at the post- Budget Beehive party in May 2021 with, from left, Angela Roberts, Jacinda Ardern, Clarke Gayford, Marama Davidson and Grant Robertson. Photo / Instagram: gmsharmanz
Expulsion is not an empty threat. But expulsion from what is not entirely clear. At the very least, he would be expelled from the Labour caucus, and almost certainly from the Labour Party if the most recent Labour suspension, Chris Carter, is a model. That would leave him in Parliament.
But under the Coalition agreement with New Zealand First last term, Ardern, with the support of two-thirds of the caucus, also has the power to send a letter to the Speaker to have him turfed out of Parliament.
Whether Ardern exercises that option is ultimately up to Sharma.
