The reason that the heading above is in quotation marks is because it's a direct steal from the 3News story to which this post pertains. And the Edwards referred to is Dr Bryce Edwards who is from Otago University; not to be confused with Dr Brian Edwards, who of course isn't!
But neither Dr Edwards is a friend of the right of the political spectrum. And Dr Bryce Edwards reckons that David Shearer is living on borrowed time; check this out:
Labour leader David Shearer's plummeting popularity shows he's a "lame duck" who needs to be replaced if Labour is to have a shot at winning next year's election, says University of Otago politics lecturer Bryce Edwards.
"This is further confirmation that Labour leader David Shearer is on his way out," Dr Edwards said on Firstline this morning. "He is a lame duck leader."
That's not all though; Dr Edwards' comments about the rest of Labour's caucus aren't especially complimentary; read on:
Dr Edwards says the only reason Mr Shearer hasn't been replaced already is the lack of an obvious successor.
"Shearer's days are numbered, really, and the problem for Labour is just who can they replace him with? There's no totally convincing alternative at the moment, which is why David Shearer is surviving."
According to Dr Edwards, party insiders are hoping the "dream" team of current deputy leader Grant Robertson, justice spokesperson Andrew Little and former leadership contender David Cunliffe can set aside their differences and get the party back on track.
"What they're really hoping for, or some people are hoping for – is those three can get together and unify the party, and decide that the three of them as leader, deputy leader and finance spokesperson can replace the current lot that aren't doing too well," says Dr Edwards.
We somehow don't think that being at #3 in Labour's rankings is quite what David Cunliffe aspires to. When all is said and done, he's not the shy, retiring type who is likely to be content to play third fiddle to two MP's who are very much junior to him in terms of experience in Parliament.
And there's another hiccup to what Dr Edwards is suggesting. Just two weeks ago, David Shearer had to back down on the proposed Man-Ban. Can you really believe that a party rank and file that wanted to ban men from seeking a Labour nomination in certain electorates would be happy with a leadership triumvirate without a woman included?
Labour is in all sorts of trouble. Not only is the party stuck with a "lame duck" leader who doesn't enjoy the support of his caucus, but said caucus is leaking like a seive, as various MP's seek to pull the rug out from underneath David Shearer. Even the last bastion of Labour support, The Standard has proclaimed via "Eddie" that "the Shearer project has failed".
The only question remaining is when.
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