Matt McCarten: Carter's poison arrow part of plan for revenge

Phil Goff. Photo / Mark Mitchell

You'd be hard pressed to find of a more vindictive and devious act than Chris Carter's treachery this week.

Carter attempts to spin his deviousness as political martyrdom for the good of the Labour Party. It's nothing of the sort.

In politics there are intermittent political assassinations and caucus coups. Many incidents are messy but they're about policy differences or leadership changes by groups of MPs.

In my view Carter's actions are of an individual with a personal vendetta against his leader, Phil Goff - it is revenge for his demotion over the misuse of his ministerial perks.

Frankly, Goff let him off lightly. Rather than copping it sweet, we had the bizarre spectacle of Carter being chased around Parliament to avoid having to apologise. In Carter's own warped sense of victimhood he blamed Goff for his self-inflicted humiliation and plotted his spiteful revenge.

Over the past fortnight, Labour and Goff had the Government flustered for the first time in two years after Key's capitulation over mining and over-reaching on the changes to employment laws.

Embarrassingly, income statistics this week revealed the average New Zealand weekly wage has dropped more than $50 since Key took power. Latest polls are even starting to show movement in Goff's favour.

And that's the sole reason Carter struck with his anonymous poison letter to certain journalists.

I think his letter's claim that there was an impeding coup against Goff was a fabrication. Senior players in the Labour Party are grateful to Goff for taking the job after Helen Clark's defeat.

No one else is equipped to step into the role just yet. The consensus is that Goff deserves an opportunity to lead the party into the next election.

Ironically, if there had been a plot, Carter's actions almost certainly ensured Goff's survival. No pretender to the throne will want any association with such disloyalty. Carter's claim that members of the caucus and the party didn't believe Goff could win the next election isn't news.

Every fool who observes the polls or reads a newspaper knows that. But as former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd found out, high polls can be fleeting.

Any new leader of the Labour Party against Key was always going to struggle. It's not Goff's fault. It was Clark who lost the last election. Goff inherited her baggage and unfortunately some of her courtiers. Carter was Clark's favourite and it is widely believed his promotion was beyond his competencies and was due to his personal relationship with the former prime minister.

Clark's need to surround herself with creatures like Carter, and rewarding them with high office, reflects a personal flaw.

Goff needs to move on quickly. Carter will no doubt be expelled at next weekend's meeting of the party's ruling council. The last thing they need is to give Carter oxygen to prattle his self justification.

After all, if Carter was genuine about Goff's leadership then he could have raised it in caucus before now or even sent an open statement to the media. Instead, he used deception and lied about the letter when caught out.

When he was offered the chance to front up to his caucus colleagues to explain himself he was a no-show. So much for his professed intent that he leaked his letter to help the party. He's proved to be a liar and to me is a coward.

Anyone with half a brain will see Carter's utterances as those of a dishonest and vengeful loser. Consequently, Goff should be able to inoculate himself against any fallout. Carter has always accused any criticism of his selfish behaviour as being anti-gay. It's not his sexuality; it's his narcissism that appalls.

Carter is insisting predictably on keeping his snout in the public trough as an independent. Clark should take responsibility for her protege and offer him a job with her. The United Nations is known for its duplicity and endless perks. He'd love it. She'd have her playmate back and the good folk of Te Atatu would be able to elect a new MP who takes public service seriously.