Tariana Turia has announced this will be her last term in parliament and Te Ururoa Flavell wants to be co-leader of the Maori Party.
That would be simple if it were not for the party’s rule requiring male and female co-leaders.
Flavell can’t succeed Turia and so has to challenge Sharples who doesn’t want to go.
The requirement to have female and male co-leaders could cause more than enough difficulties for larger parties where the talent pool is larger.
What’s happening in the Maori Party shows why it’s even more of a handicap for the wee ones.
Complicating the issue is Hone Harawira’s suggestion that the Mana and Maori Parties should merge, with him as leader.
The leadership of the Maori Party was thrown into the spotlight yesterday morning when Mana Party leader Hone Harawira announced he was open to talks to reconnect with his former party as leader.
He claimed members of the Maori Party had approached him around the country keen for him to take over. . .
Sharples appeared to be open to the idea of Harawira returning, saying there was no point in having two Maori parties. . .
Harawira and Sharples must have forgotten why the former left the Maori Party a few short years ago.
His vision for Maori was very different from that of the party’s other MPs and theirs aren’t the only visions.
There are Maori involved with other political parties who have very different ideas.
A single vehicle for diverse and sometimes conflicting philosophies won’t take its passengers forward, they’ll just keep going round in circles.
