Greens and NZ First are playfighting
Green MP Barry Coates has caused a mini firestorm by saying his party would not support a Labour-New Zealand First government.
Green MP Barry Coates has caused a mini-firestorm by writing, “If we were not part of the coalition, we would not accept a Labour-New Zealand First government and certainly not a National-New Zealand First Government. Neither will be acceptable to the Greens."
In follow-up comments, he has even indicated the Greens would prefer the nuclear option of triggering a fresh election rather than supporting a red-green-black government.
I wouldn’t take his comments too seriously.
To me, it’s political theatre.
The recent bickering between the Greens and NZ First is a sop to their respective supporters, who equally take fright at the thought of a coalition.
Polling indicates Labour and the Greens' only hope of winning power is a pact with NZ First (the latest Colmar Brunton poll has National, ACT, UnitedFuture and the Maori Party positioned to win 61 seats, and Labour, the Greens and NZ First also 61 between them).
But there are different levels of alliance. The Greens could quite easily support a Labour-NZ First government on confidence and supply only.
Mr Coates appeared to rule this out by adding, “We want the Greens to be the beating heart of the next government.” But then again, it’s not up to him.
When I had a coffee with Green co-leader James Shaw recently, I razzed him about his party (and Labour) supporting Winston Peters’ nomination to the Intelligence and Security Committee.
Did it make him uncomfortable? I asked.
To paraphrase, he replied not at all, that’s politics and how things get done in an MMP environment. And indeed, this morning Mr Shaw is saying that Mr Coates spoke "out of turn."
As things stand, I think that’s the sort of pragmatism that will prevail after September 23. The proviso, however, is that Mr Peters is likely to make more racially-charged comments as the election gets closer, which may test the mettle of the more practical Greens.
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Greens and NZ First are playfighting
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