The National Party board is meeting as a matter of urgency on Wednesday to discuss the matter of Merv from Manurewa.
A source has told us the sorry saga has dominated the party president's time since Newshub revealed on Monday allegations that party power player Roger Bridge called talkback radio close to midnight pretending to be someone he wasn't to undermine one of his party's own candidates.
National Party leader Judith Collins is furiously pretending not to be the party leader when it comes to the Merv maelstrom but, despite her best efforts, it's overshadowing her campaign policy announcements.
So the party leader, party president and party board are all engaged in that one thing they steadfastly needed to avoid this campaign: Being distracted by internal ballyhoos.
Remember, National has just emerged from months (ahem, years) of infighting and talking about itself.
Alongside COVID-19, it's what killed off the party's vote. The last thing it needs is yet another round. This may not be as public, as detrimental as the leadership spills, resignations, leaks, counter leaks but it still speaks to a party failing to do its job – destabilised and unable to move on from its own internal squabbles.
This Merv business has the added layer of being a bit bloody weird on top of the white anting, accusations of ageism, racism and sexism that plagued National's Auckland Central campaign.
With Collins' leadership came high hopes of reunifying the caucus and the party – the woman to move National on, to get it back on track after a hodgepodge of distractions, navel gazing, and its failure to speak to and for voters.
This will be infuriating Collins, but she's not doing herself any favours by pretending she's not the National Party leader when it comes to party things, then getting all grumbly, walking off or proclaiming "gotcha journalism" every time she's asked a question she doesn't like.
Case in point, on Tuesday Collins was reasonably asked if she could demonstrate proper face mask etiquette. No! Gotcha journalism, she declared.
Eh? What.
Some sympathy goes to National for spruiking its own announcement after accidentally sending its law and order policy to senior Government minister and Labour campaign chair Megan Woods instead of the right Megan, Collins' Chief of Staff, Megan Campbell.
It forced Collins to swiftly make a last minute major policy addition to her campaign stops on Tuesday.
Campaigns are supposed to be slick, well-oiled and planned to the minute detail. There are so many variables, so much chaos, so much you can't control on the trail that leaders, parties and campaign chairs work hard to keep a stranglehold on all the controllable aspects- how and when policy is delivered being right up there.
Goodness knows; shit happens. The own goal policy leak was an honest mistake but National hasn't even launched its campaign yet and already it cannot catch a break whether by accident, design or self-imposed disaster.
Tova O'Brien is Newshub's political editor.
