"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." - Oscar Wilde.
I've often wondered about the truth of that statement but it may prove to be accurate for Labour after the stunning turn of events over the past few days; events that saw the end of Andrew Little, and the anointing of Jacinda Ardern and Kelvin Davis as the new leader and deputy leader, respectively, of Labour.
In the never-ending contest to grab the headlines, the baton has now been passed from the Greens to Labour - for the time being. The question now remains as to whether it will make a substantive difference to the election result. The short answer, in my view, is no.
First, the positives. Although the timing has been lousy, perhaps one good thing to come of Labour's upheaval is that the party leadership has finally been determined in the way it always should have been - by caucus members - and not by the dubious mixture of unions/membership and caucus votes. One other sliver of silver lining is that - for the time being - we have certainty about who will be leading Labour's charge into the election.
Another positive side effect is that the change gives Labour's new leadership the chance, and justification, to re-examine and tweak the policies it is relying on to lead them to government. There is also a better chance that voters will actually be listening to what the new leadership has to say.
