Despair deepens as Sue resolves to stay

More depressing news.

Having slipped into a steep decline on learning of his omission from the Queen’s Birthday honours list, Alf went back to bed to sulk.

He clambered out after an hour or so, returned to his PC to catch up with more of the day’s news, then suffered an instant relapse on reading: Bradford vows to continue in Parliament

That was the headline on a story about the Green Party’s co-leadership change – an event that should have been of absolutely no consequence to Alf, nor to the nation.

Except – oh, calamity – that it seems to have strenghened Bradford’s resolve to remain an MP.

Mind you, Alf did chuckle wryly at the Herald’s account of the Green Party process:

Leadership changes for other parties are largely done behind closed doors – decisions are made by caucus and then the winner paraded before the nation, while the loser can skulk off for wound licking, at least for a while.

For the Greens, it’s not quite like Survivor – it’s worse. Rather than “the tribe has voted, please leave the island immediately”, it’s “the tribe has voted, now stay here so everyone can watch you suffer.”

So on Saturday, when Metiria Turei was elected Green Party co-leader by its membership, Sue Bradford joined in the applause and hugged her. It wasn’t until after the speeches that she slipped away while Ms Turei was talking to media.

The report goes on to record Bradford’s expressions of disappointment at the result, which followed two months of the pair campaigning around the country together.

And then:

Ms Bradford said she would be back in Parliament tomorrow and had no intention of quitting the party.

“I’ll be doing what I’ve always been doing … be a strong voice for the vulnerable and low wage earners.”

And so – as Samuel Pepys would say – to bed. Again. For the rest of the bloody day, to nurse a deepening sense of despair.