It always intrigues me that some political parties haven’t learnt the basic political lesson about politics. The latest from the fledgling Democracy NZ is a classic schism by people who don’t want to actually achieve anything useful. It has lost about a third of its candidates, the most senior ones, and an unknown number of volunteers over a dispute about their direction – just before a general election. It reflects the various aspects I have always noticed about people who proclaim ‘freedom’ rather than cooperation. They’re useless at achieving anything apart from unproductive chaos.
DemocracyNZ has advertised its political platform as “freedom, family and farming”. Much of its rhetoric concerns opposition to the pandemic response and climate change regulations.
It had been seen as the leading light for the so-called freedom movement, which is split between various parties, including the Brian Tamaki and Sue Grey-led Freedoms NZ and the recently announced Leighton Baker party.
Stuff: Political party DemocracyNZ in turmoil after candidate exodus
I am really un-surprised by this. We saw the same kind of incoherent splitting happen in the last few elections from pretty much the same group of charlatans for much the same reasons. The underlying reason reminds me of the observation of Dwight Eisenhower on political parties. This holds as true today as it did more than half a century ago.
I wonder what he’d think of the modern Republician party of Trump and his minions. They appear to be operating, like the ‘freedom’ groups in NZ like Groundswell NZ, purely for seizing political power.
Currently the right are resembling the fracturing of previous decades of our ostensibly moral and righteous christian parties which was captured in this lovely diagram from wikipedia.
Its [DemocracyNZ] polling has oscillated between 1-2%, well short of the 5% threshold, meaning its fortunes likely rest on King’s candidacy in the Northland electorate which he won for National in 2017.
It is understood that the exodus came after Cranston – who is also a prominent member of Groundswell NZ – was fired by the board on Saturday after expressing discontent with the actions of senior party figures. That resulted in the other candidates quitting in protest.
Discontent had been simmering for months over the party’s culture, leading to volunteers and members leaving the party.
Four of the candidates released a joint statement on Monday morning, stating their belief that the party’s culture did not give confidence they could successfully implement changes if elected.
Stuff: Political party DemocracyNZ in turmoil after candidate exodus
About the only interesting thing about this inevitable spat by the obviously unrighteous and immoral is the way that it demonstrates the inability of most of these movements to be effective. Andrea Vance summarised it in a column over the weekend about various electorate seats – including King’s Northland hopes.
Northland is a real contest. Conservation Minister Willow Jean Prime could win if the votes are split on the right between Maungaturoto farmer Grant McCallum, ACT’s Mark Cameron, and former MPs Matt King and Shane Jones.
Stuff: Want to know who is going to win the election? Watch these seats
What a choice for the right-leaning voters in the North. She appears to have written this before the DemocracyNZ disintegration.
Matt King, apparently not that good at dealing with issues in his own micro-party. That isn’t exactly going to help with his chances in that Nortland seat. Admittedly a disagreement with some lazy grifters from Groundswell who are intent on pollution and never paying for it was inevitable. It isn’t exactly a responsible position to be pushing the unpaid costs of farming on to the other productive and profitable parts of the NZ export economy as has happened fro the last 20 years.
Of course the National candidate Maungaturoto farmer Grant McCallum is probably going to infuriate numbers of that same nutter and grifter right faction because he is appears to be somewhat rational. He obviously recognises that unbridled pollution by farming isn’t exactly a forward looking approach.
McCallum has lived in Northland since the late 1970s and owned and operated his Maungaturoto beef and dairy farm since 1995. He serves as chair of the Kauri Museum at Matakohe and has been a member of the Bluegreens executive since 2001.
Northern Advocate: National’s Northland election candidate is Maungaturoto farmer Grant McCallum
However I’m sure that he will be happy with the disintegration in DemocracyNZ. It means that he won’t be having to fight the polluter nutters of the right as hard, while also trying to win the seat from Conservation Minister Willow Jean Prime.
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