“Internet Mana”, that's the new name for the Mana and Internet Party who signed an MOU merger today.
According to Hone Harawira, “Hone Heke was not the eldest, yet he's a well-recognised chief. It's not about who wants what.”
Hone Harawira is definitely the older sibling being the new party's leader and number one on the list. Second is the leader of the Internet Party to be named this Thursday.
Three and four go to Annette Sykes and John Minto, while the two following positions will go to the Internet Party and thereafter it's one-for-one.
According to Internet Party president Vikram Kumar, "they'll be investing more financially but it's fair to say that Mana has the numbers on the ground and knowledge of the political system."
The main goal for Internet Mana is to get rid of the National Goverment, a non-negotiable point that was written into the MOU.
However, National's response is that this is simply an avenue in which Kim Dotcom hopes to avoid extradition to America which is why he's invested quarter of a million dollars.
The Māori Party says their claim of being the only independent Māori voice in Parliament is now undeniable.
Te Ururoa Flavell says,"The Mana party is very critical of our alliance with National, so the question is, what's different today? They're aligning with a party that doesn't have one single concern for Māoridom, or Northland for that matter, and that's the problem.”
If the partnership doesn't work out, there is an exit clause in the MOU. It states only seven days written notice is required if a party wants to sever its ties. If that doesn't happen, there's also mention of the agreement being assessed six weeks on following this year's general elections.