We’ve not devoted much space to the ones polling under 5% as unless they can get a seat in parliament they’re not going to attract much attention, except in Kate Hannah/Professor Spoonley/Joanna Kidman etc. hitjobs on Stuff/TV1/Newshub which fantasize about ‘right wing extremists’

But they shouldn’t be neglected, and Counterspin Media have done a series on each one of them, replay videos viewable here

The sensible approach for them would have been to combine under an umbrella to contest the election, but there are are 3 big problems:

  1. Leaders’ egos
  2. Attachment to their ‘branding’
  3. Attachment to policy positions which aren’t necessarily shared by the others.

A political party is necessarily a majority thing and it’s unlikely that everyone in them, as a member of parliament or otherwise, agrees with all their policies. You have to live with that if you’re going to get the important things you agree with done. Some readers have said that politicians’ support over 2021-2022 for that substance is a deal breaker for them. But some National MPs were opposed to the Jacinda government’s coercion and ACT voted against the legislation that enabled it.

We like the Liz Gunn Party’s statement of positions.