Felix Marwick give Phil Goff a serve:
But the Labour leadership issue highlights some of the developments that stemmed from its succession plan at the last election. At the time it was seen by many (and I was one) that to have an orderly transition which saw experience retained was not a bad move. Experienced senior MPs led by Phil Goff were there to develop the party’s new talent and build an opposition party of force and skill.
Well, that’s the way it was supposed to work.
Hindsight is a marvellous thing and it’s easy to say this now. But perhaps the better option for Labour would have been to wipe the slate clean. Have a fresh start with new faces and no lingering ties to the Clark years. Perhaps that would have allowed voters to more easily identify with a new Labour Party and not suffer the hangovers of the past. It could very well have shortened Labour’s time in opposition. However the decision was made, history’s been written, and we will never know what might have been.
