David should have kept his word...

When David Shearer was elected leader of the Labour Party, one of the things he promised was an end to "gotcha" politics. Here's what he told Grey Power less than eight months ago:

Labour leader David Shearer is poised to deliver a rolling series of speeches setting out his vision for the country – and has made it clear he won't be pressured into changing his leadership style.
"I'm not the kind of leader who believes in rival tribes playing 'gotcha', where bickering and partisanship are prized. Of course that's what a lot of people look for. They want to score the game, give points for the best smart remark in Parliament. But that's not what most New Zealanders want," Mr Shearer told an Auckland Grey Power meeting yesterday. 

But now, courtesy of Newstalk ZB's political editor Barry Soper, we know where the information about John Key and the GCSB has come from; check this out:

The Labour Party's GCSB leak has been revealed.
The partner of David Shearer's chief spin doctor, former TVNZ political journalist Fran Mold, has connections to the bureau.
That's where the party's information has come from that when John Key was briefed at the GCSB in February, he spoke to the spies in a cafeteria.

We wonder whether David Shearer was aware of Fran Mold's GCSB connection (according to Cameron Slater her partner no longer works there) when he appointed her upon taking over from Phil Goff. If he did, surely he realised the potential for making her the meat in the sandwich if this ever reached the public domain. Slater blogs thus:

Barry Soper is a little wonky in his analysis though because xxxxxxx xxxxxx no longer works at GCSB having left there for a job at Primary Industries. He is however very good friends with Agent “G” who must be sitting at his desk waiting for all hell to descend upon him wishing he had never met either xxxxxx or Fran.
For his party though David Shearer is either very stupid or has been set up. Because right now no one is ever going to trust him because he plays shameless politics with security agencies. Like Phil Goff before him he has blamed the agency and accused them of lying and worse of physically destroying evidence on Firstline this morning. We all know how that turned out for Phil Goff.
Shearer has shown himself unfit for office.

Reaching the public domain it indeed has. David Shearer went for the jugular last night, but has already backed away from the cast-iron allegation he made against John Key last night. But if those allegations weren't "gotcha politics", what was?

There will be lots of people sitting very uncomfortably in their chairs this morning, David Shearer amongst them. Every public servant signs a confidentiality agreement, and the standards at the GCSB will be far more stringent. It is clear that there has been a breach of confidentiality, and that Fran Mold and David Shearer have not hesitated in using this information for political gain. Shearer indeed was gloating last night about the Labour Party having sources within the GCSB; we reckon that is absolutely unacceptable for ANY political party, right or left.

This story is growing legs, and fast. But it's not growing legs in the way that David Shearer would have hoped, and now his role and that of one of his most senior advisors is under scrutiny. David Shearer has become the story, not John Key.

Gotcha politics is a dangerous game, and sometimes it comes back to bite the player on the gluteus maximus. David Shearer may now be wishing that he'd kept his word.