SMOKE AND MIRRORS

Despite loyally supporting a right-wing Labour Government for the past six years, the Green's want the electorate to believe that they have changed. But the evidence for that claim is thin on the ground.

WHAT IS the role of the Green Party this election? With Labour heading for an almost certain election defeat, the Green's will find themselves on the opposition benches. The chances of any of its policies being implemented is exactly zero.

Even if there was a dramatic turnaround in Labour's electoral fortunes over the next fortnight or so and Labour managed to squeeze into government again, the Green's would still be out in the cold. That's because the party's proposed policies are largely based on the assumption that a wealth tax will be introduced. Since Labour leader Chris Hipkins has repeatedly ruled out such a tax the Green Party is, frankly, blowing smoke.

Even though the Green Party leadership still believe in the nonsense of a 'green capitalism', they are not entirely stupid. They know that they are politically impotent this election. The Green Party's real agenda is mercenary: it is attempting to frame itself as the 'progressive alternative' this election in a calculated attempt to pick up the votes of Labour supporters disillusioned with the performance of the Labour Government over the past six years. Little wonder that co-leader Marama Davidson has been claiming in the social media that her party is in line for 17 seats this election. She will no doubt be encouraged to carry on with her divisive and anti-working class ethno-nationalist politics.

The larger role of the Green's this election though is to act as a 'safety valve' for the growing number of folk who are angry and frustrated with an economic and political status quo that serves the interest of the corporate sector while disregarding their own urgent needs. 

The Green's Chloe Swarbrick revealed this week, unintentionally, that the real role of the Green's is indeed to pacify an increasingly 'uppity' working class. She urged people who were feeling 'disenfranchised, disenchanted, uninspired or angry' by the 'lack of vision' shown by National and Labour to consider voting for the Green Party.

The obvious question is: Why? The Green Party is as much a part of the political establishment as National or Labour. For six years it loyally supported a Labour Government that continued the policies of neoliberalism. The Green's, for electoral advantage, might want to be seen as the 'progressive choice', but there is nothing in their present set of policies that even hints that they want to tip over the neoliberal applecart. They just want to tinker with it a bit.

It's not surprising that the Green Party has steered well away from the demand of the international environmental movement for 'system change not climate change'. The Green Party, loyal to market economics, is not about to start campaigning for the overturning of the economic status quo. The Green Party's progressive politics is all smoke and mirrors.