As Birmingham's Labour councillors move to bar any public discussion over the election of the next leader of Birmingham City Council, it seems we have stumbled upon the keynote issue of the campaign.
You might think it would be the future of child protection in the city following years of failure or you may believe that the library service or refuse collection is what is important.
Maybe fixing potholes or ending the gridlock that hits our streets every day or perhaps even plans to tackle to the obesity epidemic are on the agenda.
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The more cynical among and securing the best cabinet job or a highly paid committee chairmanship under the new leader will secure a vote.
Although any paid cabinet post could be very short-lived indeed if rumours that government commissioners are already packing their suitcases for a trip to Birmingham are on the money.
But no, it appears that at least two of the Labour leadership contenders believe the councillors' car park is the hot potato issue in the upcoming vote on November 23.
There has been much grumbling since the underground car park at the back of the Council House, in Victoria Square, was closed in January and the politicians and senior officers had to suffer the indignity of using the multi-storey car park behind Baskerville House and shuffling through Paradise Forum with the unwashed masses to attend meetings.
Only a handful of very top councillors and officers got a parking space in the Council House courtyard alongside the Lord Mayor's chariot.
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So, with the closure of the Paradise Forum walkthrough, , as deputy leader, contacted all councillors attaching a map of the new route around the site and promised to review the parking arrangements in consultation with colleagues over the next few weeks.
Obviously, he has made great play that he will be a more "collaborative" leader than Sir Albert Bore and, on this very important issue, is bearing this out.
But it appears this hasn't always been the case as claims the mistake was made last year.
Clearly Coun Leddy, a former Lord Mayor, believes it is an important issue, as he raises it in the final paragraph of his seven lengthy policy emails - going out on a high.
He says: "Ian Ward exemplified yet again his poor decision making, to provide designated car-parking spaces for a select number of councillors in the courtyard, whilst planning the closure of the underground, with no consultation with the (Labour) group executive or group as a whole.
"It didn't become important until raised at December's meeting, after which he hastily arranged in January to make Brindley Drive car park available to councillors, something which in my opinion is totally unsuitable."
He suggests instead some reserved on-street parking around the back the of the Council House for committee meetings and the multi-storey for the monthly full council.
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By scrapping the increasingly long-walk around Paradise, has Coun Leddy perhaps hit on a vote winner?
None of your business say Labour councillors
The famous adage that those who do not learn the lessons of history are destined to repeat them seems to have been completely lost on Birmingham City Council's Labour group.
It was less than a year ago that government troubleshooter Bob Kerslake found the organisation was too inward looking, obsessed with its own processes and unable to properly engage with or enlist the support of the wider city.
His report concluded: "The council's vision for the future of the city is neither broadly shared nor understood by the council’s officers, partners or residents."
Bearing in mind that his report was a major factor in the downfall of council leader Sir Albert Bore, you would think everyone would take those lessons on board.
Certainly, the five leadership candidates have all made some form of commitment to the Kerslake improvement plan - not least because they risk government intervention if they do not.
But it seems the wider Labour group - those 78 councillors who will choose the next successor - have failed to grasp this concept.
something they will sort out in private and announce to the world.
While in strict terms this is correct, it is based on a 19th century political system.
The reality is that whoever wins the Labour leadership will within a week become leader of the largest local authority in Europe, with ultimate responsibility for a
£3 billion budget and a duty to provide public services to more than a million people.
To that end, some sought to set up a public hustings for the candidates so at least those interested and the media could give their views on the five candidates and their policies.
But the Labour group executive committee, a faceless group of half a dozen councillors, have put their foot down and have effectively banned any public hustings in a move described by candidate Mike Leddy as "bloody stupid".
The other candidates were similarly disparaging.
Behind the scenes at the council meeting there was high farce over the issue. In a move straight out of Yes Minister, the group has not banned public hustings but they are not endorsing any.
Bizarrely, everyone is blaming someone else for this. Something else Kerslake highlighted as an issue, no ownership of a problem, only blame.
The upshot is that this is being treated as a de facto ban by the candidates who are in no doubt that if they attended a hustings the group, i.e. their electorate, would take a dim view and none of them want to harm their chances.
By this ridiculous ban the Birmingham Labour group has shown that, at a time when Government inspectors are breathing down their necks, they have failed to learn the lessons of Kerslake.