Kerre Woodham: Carter a loose cannon no party needs

Photo / Richard Robinson

Wow. when it comes to pressing the self-destruct button, Chris Carter has written the template.

Earlier in the week, journos around the country were scratching their heads wondering who the nutter was who had been posting anonymous letters undermining Phil Goff's leadership of the Labour Party.

The letter told of a depressed and fatalistic opposition caucus and while it read like Chris Carter, surely, they thought, he wouldn't be so mad as to put his poison pen to paper, would he? Then they found out that yes, indeed, he was that stupid. His handwriting on the envelopes; his lanky frame lurking around the internal mail office.

He hissed and spat like a cornered rat when Phil Goff confronted him about the letter and then, when pushed, he admitted that yes, he was the author.

Later, he told the media that he was glad. In a way, he said, he'd wanted to be caught and that his only concern was the wellbeing of the Labour Party and getting it back into government.

He may just have given his party a leg up. Most people, whatever their political hue, had some sympathy for Phil Goff and none at all for a man whose arrogance and eccentricity have had him in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons over the past few months.

He's been utterly resistant to the idea that he should stay home and work rather than travel the world; he's hurled accusations of gay bashing whenever he's been questioned over his lavish spending; he's a loose unit who's not helping the party he claims to love.

Labour probably won't win the next election but that will have nothing to do with Phil Goff. It's more about the fact that there have only been three one-term governments in New Zealand's political history, four if you include the Liberal Reform coalition.

The last government to be booted out after three years was Bill Rowling's in 1975 which suggests National will have to do something monumentally stupid to lose the next election.

The Labour caucus should be buckling down, learning the business of politics, building relationships and pouncing whenever they see a weakness.

Chris Carter, in the meantime, should be dusting off his CV and going through the Trade Me classifieds to see where he can go to next. It will be interesting to see where an old career politician goes when they're put out to grass. When they're justifying their salaries and expenses, most of them claim to possess a tireless desire to serve and imply a towering intellect.

It will be fascinating to see if employers hold ex-politicians with the same high level of regard in which some politicians hold themselves.