Wounded Peters Could Be Dangerous
September 25th, 2008
Winston Peters has been censured by Parliament and National says it won’t have anything to do with him after the election, but it’s difficult to find an MP from any party prepared to say the NZ First leader won’t be back. Peters is at his best, and most determined, when the odds are stacked against him and there’s speculation he will run a ranting, raving campaign which could keep his party alive. On current polling it’s drawing about 3% of the party vote, it needs 5% to cross the MMP threshold. With Peters going hard for the Grey Power vote, and winding up conspiracy theorists, it could be within his reach.
After the censure vote on Tuesday, NZ First is isolated from every party in Parliament except Labour. With the exception of an abstention from the Progressive Party, all the others backed the censure motion which was called for by the Privileges Committee on the grounds Peters knowingly misled Parliament by failing to declare a $100,000 donation from Owen Glenn. Peters claimed he knew nothing about the donation, made in 2005, until July this year. The Committee decided he did, and Parliament supported the conclusion on a 62-56 vote. Peters is furious. He’s lashing out at National and those he now sees as its allies. Even the Maori Party has been accused of treachery and betrayal. Peters says it told Maori media it would support him and then voted against him. He sees it as evidence the Maori Party is aligning itself to work with National post-election.
The Govt was dragged into the row when the Maori Party complained a senior minister urged it to vote against the censure motion. Parekura Horomia owned up, saying he had done nothing more than explain Labour’s position, but the revelation took the edge off the Govt’s claim National was the only party politicising the issue. National’s nightmare is Peters might bring his party back – as a committed supporter of the Labour Party. With the Greens, this could add 13 or 14 votes to Labour, meaning a National victory starts looking less like a sure thing.
COMEUPPANCE?
• Most think Peters will be back.
• He lashes out at National and its allies.
• His return could be National’s greatest nightmare.
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Duncan Cotterill