October 12, 2014
Hone will be back
Hone will be back
WILLIE JACKSON
It was great that Hone Harawira declared his intention to stand again for parliament in 2017. He will be a strong chance to regain his Te Taitokerau seat particularly given there was just over 700 or so votes between him and the Labour Party winner Kelvin Davis. Harawira knew that the seat was his to lose and despite a nightmare campaign he still very nearly pulled it out of the bag.
Unlike nearly everyone who has commented on his demise I do not accept it was because he hooked up with Kim Dotcom. No that’s nonsense, it was clearly because he didn't manage the Mana Internet relationship properly and he totally lost control of the campaign strategy. It was very unlike him to lose control because normally he is so disciplined and organised with his work.
The Mana Internet partnership required strong and tight leadership which are skills he has exhibited thru his whole career and someone needed to reign in Dotcom. That someone should have been Harawira who strangely went missing in action and seemed to ready to step aside for Laila Harre and Dotcom. In fact the leadership structure became far too confusing and no one was sure by the end of the campaign who was actually in charge Harawira, Hare or Dotcom.
I’m convinced if Harawira had of taken charge of things that he would have won his seat but who would have predicted the campaign from hell and Harawira losing his mojo? Still it’s good to see his confidence hasn't deserted him he has asked for a recount in the Taitokerau seat not because he thinks he will win but to placate the hundreds and maybe thousands of Maori voters whose votes were discounted on Election Day.
In 2011 he said “When are these racists ever going to learn? Here we are in the middle of an election campaign and we have these colonial throwbacks talking down their noses to valid Tai Tokerau constituents trying to make them feel dumb and to put them off voting”. He says nothing changed in 2014 and too many Maori are not being treated fairly and respectfully in the electoral process and an independent review is needed. That’s the type of talk that his supporters love and there wasn't enough of it in this campaign. He has been a tremendous advocate for his people and a real personality in parliament unlike others who lose their seats he has a strong movement in Mana that backs him and will continue to for years to come. If he can work out at least an accord with the Maori party where he is the only Maori faction candidate then I have no doubt that Taitokerau will be his again in 2017.
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