Karl du Fresne: An arrogant young man spitting the dummy, or was there more to it than that?

Two things you never stop learning as a journalist is that there are usually two sides to a story and that things are often not quite what they seem. I was reminded of this by the media feeding frenzy over Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay.

On the surface, it looked straightforward enough. Here was a cocky young MP, a political careerist ordained by the party’s high priests and priestesses as an up-and-comer, brought down in a steaming heap of ordure – and committing the unpardonable sin of splattering his leader in the process.