"Justice Minister resigns after being charged over drunken car crash" was not what I expected when I heard the news this morning. And obviously it sucks for that Minister, and they clearly need help (and maybe to leave politics so they can have a normal life). But its also the latest in a long-line of completely self-inflicted wounds for Labour, which may end up being the death knell for its re-election chances.
Michael Wood, sacked for keeping his pecuniary interests hidden. Jan Tinetti, caught lying to parliament to cover her control-freakery. Stuart Nash, sacked for corruption. These were all completely voluntary and hence completely avoidable political wounds, the result of arrogance and stupidity. So is drunk-driving and refusing to accompany police to provide an evidentiary alcohol test. And the fact that this just keeps happening suggests there is something very wrong with the Labour team, and the behaviour it sees as acceptable.
Another self-inflicted wound is the refusal to promote anyone to Cabinet to cover the gaps left by the various resignations, meaning that core Ministers get overworked with additional portfolios - and important policy areas get neglected due to lack of Ministerial attention. Not that Labour is doing policy anyway - they're the government of doing nothing, and the proximity of the election means what little they do do is all reactionary bullshit made up in five minutes to neutralise a bad headline. But not having proper Ministerial oversight does not help, and is likely to lead to more unpleasant surprises in the future.
None of which bodes well for October. The equation for government under MMP is that you need around 48% after the wasted vote. For the left, that means the Greens need to bring 8% and Labour 40%. Te Pāti Māori gives Labour a bit of wiggle room most years - and more than usual this year. But Labour still is not doing as well as required. If they end up on the opposition benches after October, they'll have no-one to blame but themselves.
