There has been much talk in recent weeks about the Maori Party's new romance with John Key and National.
The Maori Party have publicly slagged Helen Clark and Winston Peters, the former for being a washed up pollie on her way out, and the latter an issue of deep distrust over Peters and his philandering ways with undisclosed donations.
The Maori Party are right to cosy up to National, they are both inherently conservative, apart from the basic racist platform that the Maori Party operate under, and both have a long history of connections with each other-National were the first to kick off the major treaty agreements that we are now seeing Labour take credit for.
National are in a position, given their strong and sustained poll ratings, to offer Maori Party voters and Maori voters in the Maori and general seats more, the Maori Party know that and Key is far more pragmatic and easier to negotiate with than Clark, so will make any post election deal far easier.
In negotiations after a probable National Party majority win, National may need Maori Party support and the delivery of results under National for Maori in the 1990s would continue under a National banner this century.
If we look at how poorly Maori population have been served in the last nine years under Labour we don't have to look far at the disappointing statistics:
Higher Maori unemployment and dependant on welfare
Poor health outcomes
Lower levels of education participation
Maori make up a much larger proportion of the crime and prison population
And so it goes on.
The outcomes for Maori have been far worse under Labour for the last nine years and the unpopular "Seabed and Foreshore Act" passed by Labour was the impetus for the birth of the Maori Party and Maori Party members and wider Maori haven't forgotten that.
The crack by Clark before the 2005 election that:
"The Maori Party would be the last cab off the rank in any coalition talks,"
will also come back to haunt her and her party during the 2008 campaign, although earlier this week her last cab remark was replaced by a "first limo" statement about any possible 2008 coalition negotiations with the Maori Party because she is desperate.
A National/Maori Party coalition would be a natural and exciting fit for a new government until 2011 and Labours last minute attempts to curry favour with wider Maori by passing treating claims at breakneck speed is unlikely to help.
The only solution to the current problem therefore is for Maori Party voters to give their party vote to National instead of labour.
