McCarten on the National/Maori alliance

2009 July 12
tags: , , ,
by adamsmith1922

Matt McCarten writes in HoS on the unlikely, but as he sees it, strong relationship between National and the Maori Party.

The article is worth a look, but Adam noted these closing words in particular:-

But Key knows as long as he concedes enough benefits to his new best Maori friends they will keep their seats and give him a permanent majority in Parliament.

The desertion of many Maori from Labour to the Maori Party is a bit like a failed marriage where the spurned partner blossoms in a new relationship and the old spouse belatedly realises what a fool they were letting them go. Goff and his party have a lot of catching up to do. Supporting the scrapping of the foreshore and seabed legislation is a good start.

Now to a certain extent all minority parties ‘are for sale’.One could infer from this that McCarten is cynically suggesting that Maori can be bought, and that Labour will only regain their support when they offer more baubles.

from → Governance, Maori Party NZ, National Party NZ

2 Responses
  1. 2009 July 12
    Adolf Fiinkensein permalink

    And if I do say so myself, I suggest I was one of the very first, if not THE very first commentator to predict just such a relationship. You should have heard the hoots of derision from ALL sides of the spectrum.

  2. 2009 July 12
    kg permalink

    Of course Maori can be bought–there’s nothing cynical about noting that. Just as middle-class welfare beneficiaries were bought with WFF.
    The only problem with buying Maori is that they insist on payment. Again and again. They like to have very frequent “full and final” settlements….

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