As the NSW election fast approaches, there's a growing unease around politics in the state

Ministers are standing down, outgoing ministers undermining the Premier, MPs being sacked or changing parties, and election candidates withdrawing or being withdrawn by party authorities.

NSW is not alone by any means. Federal politics is no better. The Bruce Lehrmann-Brittany Higgins-Linda Reynolds saga is dominating media coverage. International leaders like Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand and Nicola Sturgeon in Scotland have retired citing the pressure and brutality of modern politics.

Ultimately voters may not care, perhaps seeing a reflection of their own foibles in the behaviour of modern factional party politics, but it still makes me uneasy. The media is often not much help. It is the vehicle for many of the allegations that cloud politics, yet their own motives often seem to be partisan or commercial. Their stories may not be the full story; yet their headlines can serve to inflame issues and potentially defame individuals rather than illuminate the truth.

Both major parties are contributing to my growing unease. It is not just the inter-party contest but the intra-party factional squabbles which feed the controversies. Many of the revelations in the media are being fed by leaks from party and community vigilantes driven by self-interest.

On the Coalition side, a succession of government ministers has stood down over allegations of conflict of interest during this term of government, most recently the former finance minister Damien Tudehope over non-disclosure of share-holdings in Transurban, a company that enjoys substantial government infrastructure contracts. And the John Barilaro "jobs for the boys" saga just won't go away either.

Liberal parliamentary secretary and upper house MP, Peter Poulos, had his party membership suspended and his endorsement for the election withdrawn because he distributed an explicit photo of a fellow party member during a party preselection stoush.

Some Liberal party branch members, including two of Premier Dominic Perrottet's brothers, are being sought to appear before a parliamentary enquiry into council corruption.

The party's dirty linen has also been on display during preselection contests as factional leaders have resisted the Premier's pleas to introduce greater gender parity into a parliamentary party which is bereft of women. In 2023 such a blokey party is a disgrace.

On the Labor side Bankstown MP Tania Mihailuk, who resigned from the party in 2022, has jumped ship to run for Mark Latham's One Nation. She condemned Labor as "woke" in her parting shot as she joined Latham's ticket, despite having once described him as a buffoon.

Four Labor candidates have withdrawn as candidates for various reasons. The most notable are Khal Asfour and Terry Campese. Both became big stories.

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Asfour, mayor of Bankstown and a local party opponent of Mihailuk, withdrew as a Labor Upper House candidate after media reports detailing allegations of inappropriate expenses claimed while he was on an overseas council trip. His spokesman said that he had suffered a "vicious smear campaign".

Campese, the high-profile Queanbeyan identity and former Canberra Raiders star, has withdrawn as the candidate for the highly contested seat of Monaro after a series of critical newspaper reports about aspects of his personal life. His parting shot was that the politics he had experienced in just a short period was "not about representing people but about their own power with a win at all costs mentality".

Perrottet has had lots thrown at him. First there was the revelation of his appearance at his 21st birthday in a Nazi uniform. His apologies were dignified and heart-felt, but opinions about his conduct then still differ.

Then there was the attack on him by the CEO of Clubs NSW Josh Landis over the proposed introduction of the cashless gaming card. Landis, who subsequently lost his job over his attack, condemned the Premier for relying on "his conservative Catholic gut" rather than the evidence. Perrottet, already sensitive about his religious beliefs because of an ABC Four Corners episode on the influence of the Catholic sect Opus Dei on his former school, Redfield College, swiftly responded that the comments were "inappropriate and offensive". He declared that the government proposal was not informed by the fact that he was a Catholic. He was backed by Opposition Leader Chris Minns, also a Catholic, who condemned the language as "sectarian and discriminatory".

Given time to reflect, Perrottet realised that the extent of this controversy was an over-reaction and that his immediate response was incorrect. Like all public figures his actions are informed by his private values. He reached the sensible position that his upbringing and his faith, a good thing not a bad thing, did have an impact on his policies. They gave him a sense of social justice and a concern for vulnerable people.

The big picture is not attractive on either side. Don't get bogged down in each individual case, but try to stand back. Many of these controversies are complex matters involving disputed facts and difficult ethical judgements. Most cannot be properly resolved in the heat of a campaign. Individuals and their parties often resolve them by taking the line of least resistance, meaning grovelling apologies and/or exit.