Green Party Insider on Extreme Left Take-over

Phil U at Whoar is a Green Party member. He has just posted a lengthy analysis of the dangers of a complete leftist takeover of the Green Party should Russel Norman beat Nandor Tanczos for the male co-leadership in June. Phil U writes for fellow Greens, imploring them not to let their party fall into the hands of the hard left.


Hat Tip David Farrar

Below are some pertinent excerpts. My emphasis added in bold. The format is as written on Whoar.

"casual observors of the green party male co-leadership struggle could well be asking themselves just who is this russell norman..?…he who has appeared as a contendor for this crucial role…and what does it all mean…?

the first question dosen’t really matter….it’s the second that is the rub in this story…

a victory for norman..(which is looking likely/possible)…will mean the left wing of the party will have achieved one of their major goals….control of the green party..(just the mopping-up will need to be done..)

and here’s who..?..why..?…and how…?

some history first…
the greens were once part of the alliance party…which made sense in first past the post days…
the advent of m.m.p. saw the move from within the party to hive off from the alliance..a move that was opposed by some of the greens..those who preferred to stay under the left-wing umbrella of anderton/alliance..

interestingly enough..current contendor russell norman was one of those who opposed that breakaway from the alliance by the greens….
and nandor was one of those who headed that drive to split…nandor ably articulating/arguing the case for an independant green party…one not tainted by the stains of the old ideologies..a party that could independantly argue the conservation case…and could appeal to those of all ideological stripes…

so that is a question i would like to hear russell norman answer…
“just why was it you opposed the greens leaving the alliance..?…and how can this fact not effect/worry those who are concerned about the greens being in that ideological straightjacket…in that ongoing self-constraining role of labours’ handmaiden…?..”
(these concerns can only be heightened by the awareness norman is a former member of the communist party..?…and has as his mentor within the party one keith locke..’nuff said..?.)

another interesting fact about norman is that high on his c.v. is his role in the big anti-ge march up queen st some years ago..
now the rub with this one is that norman..along with locke..and party leftie catherine delahunty(number nine on the green party list..one ahead of norman..)..all argued vehemently against the idea of a march….they lost that one..and then argued vehemently against the ultimate timing of that march..noon on saturday…they wanted it to be at the usual time the left held marches….5.15pm on a friday night…

how do i know all this..?…i know because i was the one who presented/called for the idea of “hitting the streets”…and argued vehemently against the 5.30 fri nite timing..pointing out that all that would guarantee was a low turnout..and a whole lot of pissed off/at the end of their week/workers…
an overwhelming voice vote on both issues won the day…(so..expedient political opportunism at the fore..that left triumvirate then took over the organising…with norman as titular head…go figure..eh..?)

so..another question for russell norman….”could you tell us why you voted/argued against the idea of the march..and the timing of said march…and could you tell us how now in good conciencse you can claim kudos for an idea that was not yours…?..”

now the green party is..like the labour party..a broad church…there are the deep green vegan/veggies/animal rights crew…there is the old-school values party people…there are those who only came on board over the g.e. issue..there are the cannabis reform people..and there is the left…

the other components of the arguments/concerns against/around norman/the left winning this male leadership are around the female co-leadership succession question…
jeanette fitzsimons is the public face of the greens….but she will not be there forever…(i would suspect that shortly after the next election she will retire..and many thanks to her in advance of that decision..her role for the greens has been crucial..her and rod de-demonised the party in the eyes of many…)

and the current front-runner for that role is…sue bradford….(which camp within the greens do you think she comes from..eh..?…)

so..do you get my point….?….a norman/bradford leadership cabal would irrevocably lock the green party into that far-left role…and would..in my opinion..doom the greens to irrelevancy..and electoral oblivion….this reason..and this reason alone should be enough impetus for the green party membership not of the leftwing camp to block normans’ run for that position…eh..?

i’d like to finsh with what i think is a telling anecdote…i was present when sue bradford and catherine delahunty made their first appearance at a green party meeting….
this after both being hounded out of the alliance part of the alliance by jim anderton…it is at his feet they learnt their organisational ‘chops’..(and it shows..)..

the left are very ‘top-down’..bordering on control freaks..eh..?

the green party at that time was a very low-key affair..meetings held in the low-roofed attic of a bookshop on k’ road…
at this meeting bradford said to me out of the corner of her mouth…(i had known her for some years)..that “this party is ripe for taking over..”..and she wasn’t wrong…

later in that same evening i approached the then leader of the auckland greens..(a lovely lady but lacking that political killer-will..)..and told her that “that woman over there is going to take your job”…
this duely came to pass..

and i would submit that the candidature of russell norman for the role of green party male co-leader is yet another manifestation of that attempt for the mortgage..(the death-grip)..on the green party of aotearoa…

and if this should come to pass….?..it will sound the death-knell for the party..how could it not..?

they must also make the call if they want the party to be irrevocably yoked to/controlled by the left wing of that multi-ideological soup that is the green party…

and do they want to be responsible for the electoral oblivion a norman/bradford co-leadership would bring….?…

but…if the worst comes to the worst…and the greens do crash and burn under that leftwing cabal..from those ashes will rise a new green party…shed of that authoritarian leftwing malaise…

so….think on green party members/delegates to the agm on queens birthday weekend..

in your hands rests nothing less than the future life or death of the green party…