May 21, 2008

John Armstrong On Goff

From today's NZ Herald

The body is still breathing - just. But some of the family already seem to be fighting over the corpse.
It is a sure sign that a Government is on its last legs when its members admit they might lose the coming election and discuss - even in passing - what might happen to their party afterwards.
Phil Goff can talk all he likes about "media beat-ups". And he sure did his best to talk his way out of the embarrassment inflicted on the Prime Minister and Labour by his loose remarks in an interview on Alt TV.
But all his placatory smiles and patter could not erase what he said in that interview on Oliver Driver's Let's Be Frank show.
The trouble is Goff was exactly that - frank. The more he talked about not being defeatist, the more defeatist he sounded.