“We intend to campaign hard to make Mt Albert voters aware they have the choice of supporting a candidate representing values based policies,’ said Mr Baldrick.

If anyone wants an example of what we don’t want, it’d have to be the Auckland local body elections of 2001. The CitRats took back their majority on the Auckland City Council after a bust-up between City Vision and the Greens in the Eden-Albert ward.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0904/S00241.htm

The Kiwi Party won’t get many votes but they will put the “good parents smack” referendum on the agenda. That’s the last thing Key wants.

Let’s see how National’s candidate deals with that issue. Should be fun.

Unfortunately the media are more interested in the “game” (horse race, marriage metaphors etc) than policy. That’s very sad but it can’t simply be wished away.

Minor parties need the oxygen of publicity. A hundred press releases won’t get it, but a by-election campaign will. So of course the Greens will want to take this opportunity.

Politics junkies like us on blogs like us tend to equate voting with clear ideological positions, because we’re accustomed to thinking that way ourselves. But a large number of voters like to vote “protest”, or “a plague on both their houses”. Or, in by-elections, “playing” with their vote (because they know the gov’t will not change). They have been doing this for decades now, right back to Social Credit.

Peters, Dunne and Anderton have all picked up these voters at various times. Now there is nowhere for the voters to go. It is fertile territory for the Greens, and it makes sense for them to try and exploit it. (Yes, you might think that nobody could possibly vote for Winston Peters and then Russel Norman – but they do).

Labour just have to pick the right candidate and run a smart campaign, focus on their own agenda and not let themselves get distracted by other parties. Then they will win. If the Greens come a good third – or even second – so much the better.

PS FWIW … I am not a member of any party, always vote Labour, and want a Labour/Green gov’t in 2011.

OOB, somebody needs to tell Russel that he is not the great operator he thinks he is and that his “clever” plays are harming the party and the left.

One of Clark’s biggest faults was that it she made it very hard for the party to criticise her or her decisions. From what I’ve seen over the last few years the Greens are falling into that same managerial method of operating.

When a leader is as experienced and intelligent as Clark and the party is as big and connected as Labour that model can work for a couple of terms but with a new and unsophisticated leader like Norman and a party continually on the cusp of 5% it has the potential to be devastating.

We are the third largest Party in parliament
What would be the message if we didn’t stand and let Labour have a free hit
.
There are a couple of people here, who have said that they would reconsider supporting the Greens because of the MOU and the Mt Albert by election

I would like to know what you would do to lift the Greens from the 5% – 7%
range they are in now It not about moving to the centre the whole left/right political struggle has not worked witness at the mess we are in now

We need to implement value based policies not the never ending struggle from both sides to grow the pie.
They have the same goals just squabble who best to divide that pie

We the Greens have a much different approach to the economy and politics.
One could say that labour should not field a candidate in Mount Albert as a strong Green party with an electorate seat would be the best thing if they are interested in Social Justice.

Don’t give up Tane et el things are shifting and we the Greens are not selling out our principles

This isn’t about whether people vote Labour or Green using their party vote at general election time, in theory (before the MoU) that would only change the balance of power within any post-election Left bloc.

This is about the Greens choosing to stand their strongest candidate possible in order to split the Left vote in an FPP by-election. And for what benefit? So National can win the seat?

Of course the Greens are free to do this, I just don’t think it’s very smart and coupled with the MoU it’s making me seriously reconsider my support for them.

Perhaps Labour should encourage that, as it gives the Greens some room to grow in a way that won’t steal votes from Labour. It also means some real borderline Labour/Greens supporters might feel a bit hurt by the whole thing and shift their support back to Labour.

In the end, I think it’s advantageous for Labour if the Greens are not seen as to the left of them. If we ever want a Labour-Greens government in NZ then both parties need to gain voters from National and not from each other.

I know what you mean about having a National MP. Just at present I live just over the border from Mt Albert since the 2007 boundary change. I have a National MP, something I intend to help correct between now and the next election.