Face of the Day

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has labelled Te Pāti Māori a threat to democracy after its co-leader Rawiri Waititi declared a West African military ruler to be his “modern day hero”.

Burkina Faso’s leader Ibrahim Traoré has grown in popularity across Africa and beyond, since seizing power in a 2022 coup, with many praising him as a symbol of resistance to the West.

Earlier this year, Waititi shared a video of Traoré on Instagram, with a comment labelling the president his “modern day hero!”.

“Tino rangatira is not only a domestic commitment, it is an international determination. Our fight for political, economic, social and cultural independence and liberation is not a dream, it’s a decision!” Waititi wrote.

The post provoked the ire of the ACT Party’s leader, who cited it as evidence of Te Pāti Māori’s “insane views”.

“Rawiri Waititi once said he’s not a fan of democracy. We need to take him seriously,” a spokesperson for Seymour said in a statement.

“His hero is a Marxist dictator who has delayed elections and banned homosexuality... [Te Pāti Māori is] not in Parliament to uphold democracy, but wreck it.”

Te Pāti Māori declined RNZ’s request for a response: “We will not be commenting on this.”

NZ Herald