Listen Now: 
August 23, 2013
Tamihere comeback could hinge on Labour leader pick
Waatea Team
Posted On August 23, 2013
The outcome of the Labour Party leadership battle could determine the future of one of the party’s most prominent Māori politicians.
MPs have until Monday to indicate if they are standing from the spot vacated by David Shearer, who says he has lost the confidence of many in his caucus.
Māori political commentator and former Alliance MP Willie Jackson says the leading contenders will be the man Mr Shearer beat for the job, New Lynn MP David Cunliffe, or the current deputy leader, Wellington Central MP, Grant Robertson.
He says one person watching closely will be his fellow talk show host and former cabinet minister John Tamihere, who has rejoined the party.
"I think if David Cunliffe gets in, that leaves John Tamihere in a good spot because Cunliffe's electorate is in West Auckland. He might like to form a liaison or relationship with JT, in fact I know he would want to, even though JT hasn’t been particularly nice to him in the past. If Robertson got in, JT would be better off joining Winston," Mr Jackson says.
He says Labour’s Māori spokesperson Shane Jones would have little chance of winning the leadership because of the influence of the party’s women’s factions.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
RELATED NEWS
