Te Pāti Māori’s policies are a rallying point for a more assertive and muscular political voice for Māori.Photo / BusinessDesk
Te Pāti Māori’s policies are a rallying point for a more assertive and muscular political voice for Māori.Photo / BusinessDesk
OPINION:
Meka Whaitiri’s resignation from the Labour Party has not increased the likelihood of a centre-left government being elected on October 14, writes Pattrick Smellie of BusinessDesk.
The defection, without explanation or arguably much mana, by a poorly-performing Cabinet minister whose only publicly-noted achievement in office was to be stooddown for bullying, is just the latest sign of the many challenges Prime Minister Chris Hipkins faces as election year progresses.
More to the point, talking up the possibility of Te Pāti Māori holding the balance of power is just the thing to make every Pākehā who already hates calling this country Aotearoa vote for National or Act.
These are the people who grizzle about the Air New Zealand “Tiake’s Journey” safety video, hear “co-government” when the word “co-governance” is used and nod approvingly when they see the inexplicably punctuated “Stop! Three Waters” signs that festoon the sides of regional highways.
They have been radicalised, within the confines of New Zealand’s centrist politics, by a Government that has pursued a range of social justice causes - known colloquially as “woke BS” - and are now highly motivated to vote for parties on the right that are reliably promising to put a stop to the rising tide of everything.
