The ‘argument’ and I’m using that term very loosely, the ‘argument’ forwarded by the Greens and Labour (although you’ll have all noticed not so much from Labour anymore) about why the Greens and Labour fighting in a Mt Albert by-election was a good idea was because it would usher in a new age of respectful politics where Julie Anne Genter and Jacinda Arden would skip hand in hand into meetings and in between braiding each others hair and guitar sing alongs, would have a polite debate about the policy issues that show cases blah blah blah.
Some here at The Daily Blog have constructively suggested that’s crazy talk bullshit and that National can still direct their voting block to disrupt things and Gareth Morgan might still throw in his hat.
We’ve also pointed out that the fog of war in any election means the best laid plans mean nothing. We’ve also noted that Green Party activists tend to be as humourless in their politics as vegans and cross-fitters are about diet and exercise.
How the hell this is supposed to remain civil in the age of twitter wars and Facebook assaults is beyond us, and it’s especially confusing when Julie Anne Genter is actually doing the attacking.
Bewilderingly, here’s Julie Anne Genter putting the bash in Laila Harre’s recollection of how factions within the Greens leaked information to hurt Labour…
…but they will keep it all amazing and magical with unicorns during the actual by-election itself?
Really?
Genter’s own behaviour shows how impossible it will be to keep the activists from starting wars, and all of this in the 4 week news vacuum that is February.
All that will come out of this by-election is the impression that Labour and the Greens are fighting each other when they are supposed to be looking like a Government in waiting.
Labour and the Greens will launch a joint state of the nation address amidst private fury within Labour about how badly the Greens have played this Mt Albert by-election. It’s an attempt to rebuild the veneer of unity the Memorandum of Understanding was supposed to give them. Problem is it’s happening before 4 weeks of the by-election so any symbolism of unity will be worn thin.
All Labour can hope for now is that a) Gareth Morgan doesn’t stand and b) National don’t tell their voters to vote for Genter to hurt Labour.
This clusterfuck of stupidity on the Greens behalf in Mt Albert will see a Labour+NZ First Government and the Greens left outside the tent again with a supply and demand deal. This will become an obvious choke point once NZ First announce their next bottom line – that they won’t enter any Government that includes the Maori Party.
so Genter has got teeth too…who has the best set of mashers?..or fangs?
much prefer Laila Harre!!!
Bit of a stretch, don’t you think Martin?
I think you are deliberately making a mountain out of a molehill.
I, and most of us would have probably been completely unaware of this tweet, if you hadn’t mentioned it.
What relevance has this random tweet aimed Laila Harre recently of the Internet Party got to do with the Mt Albert by-election?
Since both Labour and the Green Party have ragged on about the Internet Party and Harre, at some length, how does this attack on Harre for leaving the Greens to head the Internet Party reflect badly on Labour?
I think you are clutching at straws to make your case that there should be no contest of ideas between Labour and the Greens in Mt Albert.
If there can be no contest of ideas between Labour and the Greens in Mt Albert, Martin, then where?
Are you saying that the Green Party should just lay down to the Labour Party because Labour are the bigger Party?*
*(which is the message LP activists repeatedly give me, when I say that the Greens need to challenge Labour over their climate policies.)
You do understand that Genter had to then walk her attack against Laila back and apologise for it right Jenny?
Put aside the fact that the entire Laila/Genter twitter fight actually highlighted the faction within the Greens that wanted a neutral strategic stance, and it proves my point that in the fog of war people will say things on social media that only serve to alienate and anger – the Mt Albert by-election will produce many such moments.
Your claim that I’m saying the Greens should lay down for Labour seems to have missed every point I’ve made in every single blog I’ve written.
The Mt Albert by-election is a strategic fuck up by the Greens and the harvest it will provide will be bitter to the progressive movement.
A “Contest of Ideas” played out in public before a public and a media experienced in winkling out division and divisiveness. The “Fog of War” as Martyn puts it. A Red Mist obscuring the big picture to parties who absolutely must present a unified front (or hang separately).
What could possibly go wrong.
I think it is uncontested that the Greens white-anted Labour in a number of ways before the last election. My reading is that they harboured a secret dream of becoming the main Left-leaning party of opposition. But this is a new era, we hope. It is the expectation on the progressive side of politics that the grand view must become collegial, not adversarial. Differences must be parsed and moderated before going public. This is not a question of subsuming the views of one party to those of another. Rather it is how fraternal organisms construct the future.
Went to the luv’n. Socialist Aotearoa recruited heaps of people at the gig for Joe Carolan in the Owairaka – Mt Albert by election. Plenty of people were open minded enough to stop and talk on there way past however a lot of Labour party supporter are conditioned not to discuss issues, just told what to do. Like an indoctrinated congregation at Sunday Service. During the lovefest I couldn’t help by lie on the grass and have a moi … thats how exhilarating it was! Pulling the foreskins of opossums for a living would be more productive and useful, well not for the opossums but hey, you know what I mean, aye?
It was kind of true about Laila though. She joins the Greens late in the piece, gets involved in the inner circle, and then jumps ship to join the Internet Party taking all that confidential information with her. It put me off Laila. Maybe this Labour/Green thing just isn’t going to work no matter what anyone does.
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