THE FAILED CENTRIST POLITICS OF JULIE ANNE GENTER AND THE GREEN'S

Julie Anne Genter defends the failed centrist politics of the Green Party.

JULIE ANNE GENTER abruptly ended her short lived Twitter debate with me because I apparently have an issue with 'misplaced anger and hostility'. I think she's confusing me with Tony Soprano.

But before she decided to pick up her bucket and spade and go home, she attempted a brief defence of the centrist politics of the Green Party and of Labour. She dismissed the very idea that the Green's should be articulating the kind of polices on display by Jeremy Corbyn's UK Labour Party. So you won't see Genter campaigning for the nationalisation of the power companies anytime soon.

And even though she fatuously claimed that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would support the Labour-led government I doubt that Ocasio-Cortez's call for a 70 percent tax on the wealthy will inspire Genter or the Green's to call for something similar here. I'm amazed that she could seriously expect anyone to believe that Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, could support the austerity policies of the Labour-led government. Perhaps she needs to read the DSA's manifesto to better get a grip on things.

Genter floated that favourite hackneyed right wing argument that any party that dares to break with the status quo and articulate even mildly radical policies risks being unelectable. That's what they were saying about Jeremy Corbyn when he took over UK Labour. He's not doing too badly now, is he?

The irony is that while Genter is busy dismissing anything remotely radical the Green Party, drearily and cautiously centrist, has been steadily declining in the polls. Even Marama Davidson's entertaining tweets haven't been able to stem the decline.

Cosying up to Jacinda has had its consequences. Defending Grant's conservative economic policies has had an impact. The Green's now risk being decimated come the 2020 general election and the sad fact is, would anyone really miss them? Even when only radical policies and fundamental change will save us from the impact of climate change co-leader James Shaw is playing footsy with business leaders and talking about an environmentally-friendly capitalism. Around the world people are calling for 'system change, not climate change'. Shaw, meanwhile, is talking about the 'business opportunities' that climate change will provide. Frankly, he's nuts.

Genter and the Greens's have failed to notice, or they simply refuse to acknowledge, that nearly a million New Zealanders no longer vote because they are not as enamoured with 'politics as usual ' as the Green's so clearly are. While 'politics as usual' might have allowed Genter to enjoy the large salary and trappings of ministerial life , for ordinary folk it has meant more austerity, more poverty, and more politicians who tell them to be 'patient' and the good times will eventually arrive.

What Genter doesn't recognise is that the centre ground that the parliamentary parties continue to jostle over has been steadily getting smaller for years under the impact of austerity and wage stagnation. The consensus that allowed the centre to operate has fallen apart and isn't coming back anytime soon. 

But the failure of centrism apparently  isn't due to the failures of centrists themselves, its always the madness of others. Its far easier ,for instance, to dismiss criticism as the work of someone with 'misplaced anger and hostility' issues rather than admit that their own reactionary politics might just be the real problem.

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