Of yachts, chickens and rats

Chester Borrows PHOTO/FILE

As I write, the country waits to see if the Kiwis can pull off one more race, before the other team of Kiwis racing on behalf of some other country can catch up.

The silver lining to this never-ending boat race is the huge marketing opportunity it is for our little corner of the world.

Still, most of us are just holding out for that one final win. The language around the smoko table has changed from rugby and netball maxims to nautical terms and phrases; the calves are fed early, the fences shifted late on the farm.

Another silver lining will be for my colleague Bill English, who can expect to see a significant rise in our national productivity compared to the last month. We just need to get this darned cup won and safely in the trophy cabinet. But then let's not count our chickens ...

A warning against the early counting of chickens seems timely as we move toward the local body elections while, at the same time, watch as the Labour Party leader chooses a new shadow cabinet.

He has moved to keep his friends close and his enemies closer with the allocation of portfolios and caucus ranking. The choice of David Parker as deputy leader was interesting, as he pulled out of the last leadership race to support old leader David (Shearer) in defeating new leader David (Cunliffe).

Still, Cunliffe seems - for the moment - to be sticking with his primary election promises to spend, spend and then shell out more. What remains to be seen is if he will pull back from the profligacy as the election nears, when the dollars are counted and he and his party wake up to the fact the ends don't meet on their shadow budget.

The winning of elections for parties long in opposition is in deciding which dead rats they can swallow.

Some dead rats take the form of policies they campaigned against which are popular and successful that they must learn to live with in government. The other deceased rodents that must be endured are what actions from when that party was last in government can no longer be defended.

When an opposition party continues to defend the course they took when last in government, all they do is remind voters why they gave them the Order of the Boot.

Every government in waiting needs to learn those lessons and make those concessions or not only will they never actually be a government, they will never even look like they could be. With yet another new Labour leader and his team refusing to learn these lessons, a change of government looks a long, long time away.