Journalists tweeting from outside the Labour caucus room report that David Shearer is the new Labour leader, with Grant Robertson as his deputy. The question now is whether he'll live up to expectations, or whether Labour has made a terrible mistake in gambling on charisma rather than proven competence. And while they're not my party, it does matter; Labour's ability to present a credible alternative Prime Minister and win votes is vital to the success of any left-wing coalition.
Of course, there are other questions too: whether he'll clean out the dead wood (the fact that they are his primary supporters suggests not), whether he'll retain the left-wing platform Labour ran on this election, or shift right in an effort to "me too" National... and whether he'll use Cunliffe's obvious talents, or waste them on the backbenches in petty punishment (sadly, Labour's internal culture suggests the latter - but I'd love to be proven wrong). Either way, Labour's got a leader, and we're stuck with them for at least three years. And we just have to try and make the best of it.
