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A Māori political commentator says Meka Whaitiri’s defection could give the Māori Party the impetus it needs to become a real political force.
Ms Whaitiri yesterday quit Labour and announced she would contest Ikaroa Rawhiti for the fourth time as a Te Pati Maori candidate.
Former Labour Party chief of staff Matt McCarten says it’s not a seat the Maori Party expected to win, and with it now polling over 4 percent the party could have five or six MPs in the next parliament.
“On election night we may now see the Maori Party being the party which decides who is the Government which is always the position they want to be or should be in, that we are an independent Maori force, that we are there to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi and we come with our own mana and our own mandate,” he says.
Mr McCarten says the tax the rich populism being pushed by Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi and president John Tamihere could also help the party pick up extra list votes.
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