WOOF! WOOF!

What's the price for backing David Shearer and the Labour Party  again?  All it takes is a dog biscuit and six dollars a week...

After over three decades of neoliberalism  it is farcical  just how little that the Labour leadership has to offer to its so called 'left' critics to make them all rush to  embrace David Shearer again.   One moment he's a neoliberal troglodyte  the next moment he's a man on a white charger laying waste to the minions of neoliberalism. One moment he's a charisma-free zone, the next moment he's the life of the party, with everyone hanging on to his every word: 'Oh, Dave - tell us again how wonderful the free market is!'

Clearly the opposition from Labour's so called 'left wing'  to the political direction of the party is easily bought off.   All Dave and his friend Russel need to do is throw their critics  a policy dog biscuit and they all go 'Woof! Woof!' Look, there's goes Chris Trotter  and The Daily Blog  bounding across the lawn in the direction of  that crunchy  dog morsel.  And there is Dave and Russel sharing a laugh.

'Come on Chris Trotter' , shouts Shearer. 'Get that guitar out  and give us a mighty rendition of 'Solidarity Forever!'

Just when you thought the stench was going  away, the ghost of Steve Maharey appears mumbling,  'Anthony Giddens, the third way, TVNZ hybrid, the friendly face of capitalism, good news story.... blah blah, blah... Kiwi FM..'

On the back of  Labour - Green's ''third way'  way approach to the electricity industry we read of big claims that Labour is  rolling back neoliberalism and that Labour 'has changed the conversation'. I don't think greater  government regulation  of one sector of the economy represents a counter revolution just a mere  tinkering with the neoliberal paradigm. Neither Shearer or Norman  are about to storm the citadels of capitalist power - they're just looking for a way to  turf out John Key and his mates.

That it has got John Key and co  in a lather just goes to prove, as if more evidence was needed, of just how dominant neoliberalism is in this country and that this situation is perfectly  acceptable to all the parliamentary  parties. Labour may only be blowing  a small puff of dissent but it  is regarded as burning down the house.

And did anyone notice that this new proposal takes the heat off Labour to renationalise the power companies that National is seeking to partially privatise?

The real issue is that, again, nationalisation remains firmly off the agenda as does any talk of operating the power companies as social utilities rather than profit-driven state owned enterprises. 

Labour and the Green haven't given up on the 'free market', folks.

Indeed both Labour and the Green's are floating the illusion - again - that the market can be used for the social good.  But this policy, if it works, will amount to little more than $6 a week in savings on the power bill. Apparently the price of a cup of coffee and a muffin are adequate compensation for continuing to support the right wing policies of Labour and the Green's.

But some  people are easily convinced. Indeed they are always on the  lookout for some reason - any reason -  to be convinced. 

Chris Trotter, last seen calling for the removal of Shearer as Labour  leader   has  declared:  ' “Okay! Okay! I surrender. Shearer stays.'

The only good thing that can be said about this is that at least Trotter has the honesty to say he is waving the white flag of surrender and that hopefully brings to an end his posturing about socialism.