Willie Jackson to Labour = major loss for Maori Party
Willie Jackson will be standing for Labour and that is a dramatic blow to the Maori Party.
The Maori Party are now in deep trouble if Willie Jackson has walked.
Jackson represents the urban Maori who have been left behind by the Government’s myopic focus on corporate Iwi and if the Maori Party hierarchy couldn’t provide Jackson with the respect and positioning he deserved, this is a terrible blunder.
It seems that Te Ururoa Flavell’s stubbornness and a promise to Tariana Turia to never support Labour are the main stumbling blocks.
The only chance the Maori Party have now is to solidify their arrangement with MANA or else they will be finished as a movement. Winston is set to whip up provincial NZ with his next bottom line for Government which will be that the Maori Party can’t be part of any Government he creates.
If the Maori Party couldn’t accomodate Willie Jackson it remains to be seen if they can accomodate MANA.
This is terrible news for an independent political Maori voice.
Ka pai Willie Jackson,
You are making good sense.
Change of direction and heart for us all who are left in the ditch.
I wish Willie safe travels in his renewed career choice. He’s got his arrangement between Waatea and RNZ to care for and grow which isn’t a joke. This puts into context why Waatea would do puff pieces for Winston for me, pissed me off actually. Labour put Coffee in Waiariki so I hope labour doesn’t compound this chaos with more chaos by replacing Tamiti Coffee in Waiareki.
It’s said that maori political power resides in the kitchen, I don’t buy that for a second because Iv witnesses the Labour ground game turn that into there advantage. It’s demoralising seeing packed labour buses show up and canvas the streets when your only response is but I can dry dishes. I Grow tiresome of these games. Stuff them. Maori need to put some structure back into maori politics, two ticks should go straight to ToPs.
Can Mana survive being associated with the Maori Party?
Doubt it. The cracks are already starting to show.
That will be a sad waste of Mana’s capabilities. They have the voice of the poor and disenfranchised and getting involved with the sell-out party will cost them dearly.
Hmmm, I haven’t voted for Labour in over 2 decades because of their racism and neoliberal naiveté. Now a 33% chance for my party vote.