Why David Cunliffe is the best choice for Labour Leadership

Cunliffe-the David fit to humble political Goliath

Thakur Ranjit Singh

Future Leader of Labour Party and future Prime Minister of New Zealand: Face of confidence that can wriggle Labour  Party into power in the next elections

With the benefit of hindsight, many Labour Party caucus members would be kicking themselves for a wrong experimentation with a novice politician as their leader. Had they realised Chris Carter’s 2010 dream of leadership change, with David Cunliffe as the new leader, Labour Party’s political fortunes today would have been very different. So much valuable time on election runway has been lost, with a puffing and stalled aircraft that failed to take-off.  Had that change eventuated in 2010, today John Key would have been running for cover, instead of ridiculing Labour leader at his leisure.

Hope is not lost yet. Labour party members, caucus and unions still have access to political “rewind” button and redeem their oversight, to bring him back as leader to have any chance of winning the next election in 2014. That dream is not far away, as today Labour Party is in deep trouble, with falling polls, infighting, drifting away from its roots and lost morale. They need a capable man at helm of the party, not a mumbling humanitarian who hates politics.

Cunliffe is an experienced Cabinet minister and has the skills to front John Key. If Labour want to win, they will vote him in

And most radio commentators and many columnists have identified David who can sling-shot Goliath Key and National. They have picked David Cunliffe as the one suitable and appropriate to tackle John Key. Most talk-back hosts including Duncan Garner, John Tamihere and Sean Plunket, among others, have picked Cunliffe as the right choice. It was as far back as November, 2008 that Political Editor of NZ Herald, Audrey Young, hinted that Cunliffe would one day lead Labour. Herald’s Fran O’ Sullivan also feels that “Cunliffe is an experienced Cabinet minister and has the skills to front John Key. If Labour want to win, they will vote him in.” So many experienced journalists, who have seen leaders and governments rise and fall, cannot be wrong.

Cunliffe with other two contenders for the leadership race:Shane Jones  (middle)and Grant Robertson (right). The comradeship and unity among these three can result in victory in 2014 election, with the right person at the helm of Labour. Many many political  and media commentators have named Cunliffe as the best choice.

In fact, NZ Herald’s John Armstrong says that Labour Party do not have a choice in electing replacement for David Shearer. It has to be the other David - David Cunliffe, whose time has finally come. “He may wear his super-sized ambition on his sleeve. He may have an over-inflated opinion of his own worth. He may be extremely unpopular in some quarters of the Labour caucus. He may even self-destruct as leader.” Armstrong says. There are plenty of other reasons that will be enumerated later, but most important one is the fear factor. This one stands tall: David Cunliffe being Labour Leader worries National far more than any other contenders.

Cartoon depicting the fear factor that Cunliffe projects to Key and the National Party. It is believed that an Opposition Leader, in fact any political party leader, needs to have a bit of Political Mongrel , or Political Pitbull in them. As they say for Phantom, who is gentle to good people but rough with roughnecks, similar is true for a party leader. Cunliffe possesses that essential trait in a political party leader, and has natural disposition to be rough on political roughnecks.

As I have said before, this David gives jitters to the Goliath Key and National. They had good fun with novice Shearer, who now says he detests politics. Cunliffe is somebody who is as youthful as Key, as good-looking as him, as a traditional family man, with children as him, very suitably Harvard educated, with both government and private sector experience, somebody who is well steeped in Labours and political history of NZ, somebody who is a moving encyclopaedia on economic and financial issues, who is eloquent and school-trained debater and can spar with John Key toe to toe, in verbal energy, as well as in eloquence, financial knowledge and political history. And most importantly, as John Tamihere and Willy Jackson say: DAVID CUNLIFFE HAS POLITICAL MONGREL, SO IMPORTANT FOR A PARTY LEADER THAT DAVID SHEARER LACKED.

As Armstrong says, and many agree, David Cunliffe is the closest thing Labour has to an X factor - that indefinable political aptitude that makes Cunliffe relatively a star quality.

Cunliffe (right), with former Labour Leader, David Shearer. While he has been accused of being disloyal to his leader, you need to be a political animal and ambitious person if you wish to gain your rightful place in a political party. In the election that saw Shearer elected as leader, there have been allegations that MPs voted against the wishes of their electorate membership to choose Cunliffe. This then resulted in the current more democratic process of electing a leader in the Labour Party. It is hoped this process is more transparent and unites and enhances the Party.

Cunliffe has promised and pledged, among others, to:

·        Take on National and John Key.

·        Gather troops and unify caucus.

·        Set agenda and work on it.

·        Improve product and marketing, and never forget roots.

·        Not removing ladder once they have climbed up

·        Working on Industrial Relations policies and living wages

·        Not forgetting the roots of Labour, the working class and going to left to look after people who feel neglected by a right-wing government.

Media commentators have identified an urgent task for Cunliffe once he becomes the leader – tame the Greens, wrest back Labour’s power, authority and status as the real Opposition and stop Greens cannibalising core Labour votes that they had been allowed to gnaw into. Most importantly, in no uncertain terms Cunliffe will have to tell Russell Norman: Stop being the de-facto leader of opposition –now I (Cunliffe) am in control.

Embracing and celebrating diversity - Cunliffe joining in a dance during Waitakere Indian Association Holi  festival of colours, with colours of Holi  on his face. His rapport and empathy with common Labour members and belief in Labour roots are some strong qualities that make him a popular choice among wider Labour membership.

David Cunliffe, in a very unconventional manner, announced, and in fact, celebrated his candidacy in his office, filled and reflected by diversity of colour, races and faces of his New Lynn electorate. This man sounded and reminded us of another David that adored diversity, and Labour still adore: DAVID LANGE. If Labour wants somebody to match Lange’s wit, eloquence and political knowledge, they do not have a difficult choice.

Cunliffe announcing the launch of his candidacy in an unconventional manner-in fact already celebrating the win.  The face of diversity in New Lynn is clearly noticeable in the photo - the future look of New Zealand.

Just pick DAVID LANG...Oops, CUNLIFFE as the next Labour Leader and PRIME MINISTER of New Zealand come 2014.

Go ahead, make my day, and correct the past mistakes that Labour Party did in picking its Leader. Time is ripe to unleash DAVID CUNLIFFE to put fear and respect in opponents and pundits of doomsday.

Sure Can….just hope common sense and right choice prevails come Sunday 15^th September, 2013 -DAVID CUNLIFFE AS THE NEXT PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND.

[E-mail: thakurji@xtra.co.nz]