Your old mate reckons there is probably as much skullduggery and dirty politics in this Fonterra contest as in the general election. With two director vacancies up for grabs, Fonterra’s ‘independent nomination process’ recently came out backing current director John Monaghan and new candidates Andy Macfarlane and Brent Goldsack. However, other current directors Leonie Guiney and David McLeod did not get the tick. Fonterra then rushed out a media release saying McLeod “had chosen to retire” and thanked him for his service. Meanwhile Guiney – a major critic of the dairy co-op before her election three years ago who seeks re-election – has been rinsed.