Mike's Minute: How does Labour deal with the Māori Party?

Back to the review of the last election result we mentioned this week from the political brains trust at Victoria University.  Just to remind you, they analysed our votes, our issues, and our voting intentions and, and as a result, what sort of mandate they thought the current Government has.  My point was they overthought the whole thing, given we only have one vote and it doesn’t specifically buy a lot, or guarantee any sort of outcome, or even influence.  So it is on that note I pose this very simple premise - if and when Labour get back to power, they are going to need most likely not just the Greens, but the Māori Party too.  It’s the Māori Party that will potentially lead to a flurry of analysis and a lot of hard questions that I'm not sure anyone has even thought about yet.  The Māori Party are radicals.  When the police raided the Mongrel Mob the other day in Opotiki, Rawiri Waititi called it "state sponsored terrorism" driven by a race agenda.  How do the Labour Party live with that? How do they explain it? How do they justify being in Government with that?  To their credit, the Māori Party I think are long-termers, given Waititi seems to have a lock on his seat and that is far more reliable than 5%, which they will never get because they are radicals.  They are single issue zealots. But democracy allows this if you can find 5% to agree with you, or a seat where that sort of rhetoric sells. Waititi has that seat.  So when you vote for Labour or for the Greens do you think about a Government grouping that has the Māori Party radical element in it and, if you do, what do you think that will lead to?  What if the Māori Party have the NZ First card, i.e. the balance of power where you can't form a Government without them?  What do you think their price for that will be? How radical do you think that will be?  When the political wonks at Victoria University get to analyse that, their heads will explode.  What you thought you were voting for and what you got, will be unrecognisable. And yet in 2026 it's possible.  In 2029 it might even be likely. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.