June 13, 2022
Numbers show Che Wilson a winner
New Māori Party president John Tamihere says his predecessor will go down in history as one of the most successful presidents of any New Zealand political party in modern times.
He says Che Wilson, supported by a predominantly young team from the kohanga reo generation, stepped up after the party was wiped out of Parliament in the 2017 election.
He rebuilt from a low base to create an organisation which could withstand the red wave of 2020.
‘It’s the only party that took seats from Labour. It’s going to be very important that continues because sooner or later our people will believe enough in themselves to understand that if the brown vote turns out and we’re clever enough, we will be holding the balance of power, as we should,” Mr Tamihere says.
He says as president he will continue rebuilding the party administration as well as seek Māori money to fund it.