Labor members and supporters in Tasmania must be tearing their hair out at the party's apparent attempts at self-destruction.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Some with their heads in the sand might try to blame it all on their political opponents or even the media.
Yet the truth is that it's all coming from within, as factions battle for control and individuals put their own interests first.
Candidates, MPs and other party figures are leaking against each other, lodging complaints about each other, and publicly attacking each other.
There are threats of legal action, calls for resignations, and a union is disaffiliating.
From the outside, this latest move might prove to be in the best interests of the party and the union concerned.
It does seem some union figures have a more influential voice in Labor than the average rank and file member, and it's questionable why this should be.
For union members, meanwhile, being tied to one political party may not always be in their interests.
What's certainly not in Tasmania's best interests is an opposition party that is at war with itself and not focused on its job.
It's said in our system that a government is only as strong as its opposition.
For another four years, or the better part thereof, Labor is charged with both holding the state Liberal government to account and presenting itself as an alternative.
It can hardly claim to have been successful in this endeavour leading up to the last election on May 1.
Candidate dramas derailed their campaign and overshadowed their policies along with the Liberals' issues.
And, again, the party's troubles were entirely of their own making.
The worst of it was the stupid decision not to initially endorse as a candidate for Franklin a popular mayor and former Labor staffer in Dean Winter.
Now elected, Mr Winter and returned leader Rebecca White are perhaps the only winners in all the turmoil.
Still, that's only left them - and their colleagues - with the responsibility of rebuilding Labor's credibility.