Chris Trotter
Known principally for his political commentaries in The Dominion Post, The ODT, The Press and the late, lamented Independent, and for "No Left Turn", his 2007 history of the Left/Right struggle in NZ.
National Is Governing for (Crony) Capitalists
democracyproject.substack.com Why is the National Party doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s policy
The Power to Manufacture the Truth
Chris Trotter democracyproject.substack.com HISTORICAL PARALLELS between the impact of the printing press and the impact of the Internet are not new. Both inventions almost immediately began to undermine the command and control hierarchies of their respective societies. In the case of the printing press, the reimposition of elite
Who Cares About the Working-Class People of Rochdale?
Chris Trotter Chris Trotter is New Zealand’s leading leftwing political commentator, with thirty years of experience writing professionally about New Zealand politics. He now writes regularly for the Democracy Project, producing his column “From the Left”. democracyproject.substack.com GEORGE GALLOWAY’S STUNNING VICTORY in Rochdale, Britain, has provoked
Tougher Love
Chris Trotter democracyproject.substack.com THE INTENSIFYING POLITICAL CONTROVERSY over the Coalition Government’s policy on gangs promises to be one of those sheep-from-goats moments. While the Left will veer instinctively towards the sociological, the Right will opt to (paraphrasing one of the best lines from Pulp Fiction) “get medieval”
What Would It Take for Labour to Win?
Chris Trotter Victoria University of Wellington democracyproject.nz SURVEYING LABOUR’S savagely diminished caucus, only two MPs stand out as credible future leaders: Keiran McAnulty and Ginny Andersen. Before such a combination could accede to the leadership, however, both the Labour caucus and the Labour Party would have to undergo
Push Is Coming to Shove
Chris Trotter Victoria University of Wellington democracyproject.nz LAST WEEK The Waitangi Tribunal released Tino Rangatiratanga me te Kawanatanga: The Report on Stage 2 of the Te Paparahi o Te Raki Inquiry(Wai 1040). For the sake of brevity, I shall refer to this spawling document as the Northland Report.