THE SAME OLD SAME OLD

The only people who appear to be really that interested in the Mt Albert by-election are the Mt Albert electors (some of them anyway), the corporate media and Labour Party supporters - desperate to somehow boost the flagging fortunes of their politically bankrupt and directionless party.

The rest of us are nonplussed by the whole deal.

It'll be a victory for Labour. No surprises there. Mt Albert is, of course, Helen Clark's old stomping ground and Labour was never in any danger of losing this seat. All it needed was a candidate who turned up on time, didn't knock the furniture, said his lines and then went home. Hell, even Wendy Petrie could of done it!

The less than exciting David Shearer is the lucky candidate though. He doesn't exactly inspire does he? I have the overwhelming desire to switch channels whenever he appears on my televison screen. He's got nothing new to say because it's all been approved by Big Phil.

Shearer is Phil Goff's man and, not surprisingly, he's a grey machine politician who won't rock the Labour boat. He certainly won't be seeking to alter Labour's neoliberal course to nowhere. Indeed, if you listen carefully, you will hear him saying that the 'free market' is a good thing.

Yes, that's what the country desperately needs - another neoliberal politician to join all the other neoliberal politicians in Parliament.

As it is, Labour's victory was doubly ensured when National's candidate stunningly derailed her own campaign. Melissa Lee made a number of high profile gaffes but admitting in an interview that she didn't expect to win the Mt Albert seat was as about as bad as it gets.

Of course those excitable boys and girls otherwise known as pro-Labour bloggers will try to argue that the Labour victory is a rejection of the National-led government and a validation of Labour's policies. You just know that The Standard is getting ready to deliver the prepared script delivered to it from Labour HQ.

But, in reality, it's simply a changing of the guards in Mt Albert. Helen Clark passes the Mt Albert baton to Dave Shearer. A kind of routine administrative procedure is just about to occur. It's little wonder that most of us think the Mt Albert by-election is an almighty non-event.

A non-event leading to a hollow victory for Labour.

Meanwhile, the economic recession continues to deepen into something far more serious...