CENTRIST CENTRAL

'Regardless, if Ardern continues with the incrementalist approach, her administration, which leverages international recognition for domestic legitimacy, may come to represent yet another failure of the globe’s vaunted new breed of liberal democrats. Barack Obama, Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron each, like Ardern, spoke the language of “hope” and “change”. Yet, ultimately, all further entrenched a poisonous status quo.' Glen Johnson, Al Jazeera

The more Parliament changes, the more it remains the same...

IN THE AFTERMATH of the general election and Labour's victory, there has been some tubthumping about the diverse make-up of the new Parliament. Listening to some commentators, most of a liberal persuasion, you would be forgiven for believing that the country had entered a brand new epoch, rather than just witnessing the three-yearly rotation of neoliberal governments.

We're told that 'New Zealand now holds the title of the most rainbow Parliament in the world, going by the percentage of LGBTQ MPs.....Eleven LGBTQ people won seats in the weekend's election - that's 9.16 percent of the 120 MPs.'

Similarly former Alliance MP Liz Gordon tells us that a 'milestone' was passed on election night The election of a socialist government? No, the milestone Gordon is talking about is the election of sixty women to Parliament. Gordon goes on to say that its something that 'the left' can be proud of because 'The Greens lead the race, with 70% of the party’s MPs women. For the first time, Labour has a majority of women in its caucus, 34/64 or 53% (well done, you!).' So if Carmel Sepuloni remains as Minister of Social Development beneficiaries will be able to celebrate that they are being denied an increase in their tiny benefits by a woman. Won't that be great?

Similarly the editor of The Daily Blog, seemingly forgetting that he regularly used to thrash the Green Party for its identity politics, informs us that 'The Maori Caucus inside Labour are now the largest and most powerful faction'. Putting in a good word for his old mate and multi-millionaire Willie Jackson, Martyn Bradbury asks the crucial question that has obviously been preying on everyone's minds, 'What else does Willie Jackson who ran the Maori campaign for Labour have to do to get a promotion to Deputy Leader?'

Fair enough too. During his time as a talkback host Jackson often used to inform his audience how much of a capitalist he was and that he certainly wasn't a socialist. So I thoroughly agree with Bradbury. Willie Jackson would indeed be the perfect fit for Deputy Prime Minister.

Despite the political establishment's celebration of Parliament's dizzying diversity, the politics remains much the same. Despite its increase in numbers you can still not point to a single Labour MP who could be described as a socialist or even left wing. After all, before they were presented to the electorate, they were thoroughly vetted to ensure none of them were secretly harbouring left wing political views that Labour's leadership would feel uncomfortable about.

Although I think its still written in Labour's constitution that it is committed to democratic socialism there has been little of that circulating within the Labour Party for the past three decades. I agree with John Minto's observation that

'...the focus for this government will be on social/cultural changes which will be popular with Labour’s middle-class activists – just as Labour in the 1980s kept its activists happy with issues such as homosexual law reform and anti-nuclear policy while it decimated working class communities and drove tens of thousands into poverty.'

While the second term Labour Government will be little different from the first-term Labour-led Government, even with the departure of New Zealand First, the space is there on the left of the political spectrum for the Green Party to occupy as its own - at least in parliamentary terms. But that's not going to happen under the conservative leadership of James Shaw and Marama Davidson. They much prefer to be within Labour's tent than standing outside it.

Although it doesn't look like Jacinda Ardern will allow the Green's any seats around the cabinet table - what would Labour's new ex-National voters think, after all - those who anticipate that the Green's will be the progressive counterweight to Labour's neoliberal centrism should think again. Breaking news - the Green's are as centrist as Labour. Its fantastical to think that they will suddenly break out and start calling for a Green New Deal. That's the kind of daft thinking that gets you organising meetings to discuss how political pressure can be put on Labour to change its many centrist ways...