Head Prefect transfixed by Winston Peter's baubles

Helen Clark has stated today that the return of Winston Peters to his portfolios is "unlikely" but she is unwilling to sack him either.

This leaves him, her and us all in some sort of twilight zone type political no mans land, where Peters is neither here nor there but he still receives his taxpayer funded baubles.

Clark believes that the privileges committee hearing into his acceptance of $100,000 from Owen Glenn is "politically biased" and that National Party members had already made their minds up to Peter's guilt or otherwise:

The Prime Minister said the committee investigation had become politicised.

"This process has become so politicised, that it's clear that some MPs went into that committee having made up their mind before they had heard a single piece of evidence," she said.

"I think that members have to be very careful not to go beyond the evidence to draw conclusions which are fundamentally politically motivated."

Helen Clark said the process had been "tainted from the outset" and for that reason she was unlikely to be forced into a decision over Winston Peters this week.

NZ Herald

The Privileges Committee is of course made up in equal parts from the parties in the house so any perceived bias on Clark's part is effectively cancelled out by the committee members and their political affiliations.

What is very interesting is that Helen Clark will not make a decision to cut Peters completely free in the face of proven lies on Peter's part and 3 separate investigations into his donation history. 

Clark's position here looks bad . She looks every bit the possum caught in Winston Peters big brown political headlights and will not move in the face of political pressure from opposition parties, overwhelming public pressure to see Peters sacked and even from insiders within her own party.

Clark's part in the Owen Glenn donation saga is still up for question, she has lied and obfuscated the truth over this matter and it doesn't look like we are going to get anywhere near the truth at all.

The Privileges Committee is due to come out with their decision on Peters tonight and it would defy logic and all the evidence placed before it to come down in Peter's favour but the ironic thing is that because of political bias from Clark's representatives on the Committee, Peters is likely to walk free, when he should be in leg irons in Mt Eden Prison.

c Political Animal 2008