I’m interviewing Chris Trotter tomorrow (Friday, 24 February) at 12pm as part of University of Otago NZ Politics Chat – which you can watch live-streamed at www.bit.ly/ruN37y In the blog post below, I detail the sort of things I’m intending to discuss with Chris Trotter. In particular, I’m keen to discuss his opinion and analysis of the state of the political left in New Zealand in 2012, and what he thinks is the way forward. But what would you like me to ask him? [Read more below]
Chris Trotter is not often accused of being boring. His political commentary has long polarised politicos in New Zealand, and he seems to enjoy putting forward controversial points of view or ways of thinking about an issue. He’s been doing this as a regular columnist since the early 1990s – and his ‘From the Left’ column in the Dominion Post, the Otago Daily Times, and elsewhere, has been running continuously now for nearly two decades – which surely makes it the longest running newspaper political column in this country. Of course journalists, political activists, and politicians also regularly consult him. And in 2007 he published his excellent No Left Turn history of New Zealand. Anyone that has followed his work, knows that he has an analytical and encyclopaedic knowledge of New Zealand politics, history and society.
Sometimes it seems to me that Chris Trotter is the most hated person on the political left in New Zealand. Of course he’s got a massive public following too. But amongst many activists and politicos, he’s extremely polarising. This is especially the case when it comes to his views on the nexus between issues of race, class and gender. His critical views on Maori nationalism and feminism never fail to create a stir. For example, his 2002 Bruce Jesson Annual lecture created a significant debate, and was widely discussed because it called into question a number of sacred cows on the left. Essentially, Trotter seems to argue that the political left in New Zealand has been hamstrung by an obsession with identity politics. So is that still the case? This is the area that I’m most interested in talking about with Trotter. More generally, what is the health of the left in New Zealand in 2012, and what is the way forward for the political movement?
There’s lots of other things to discuss with Chris Trotter. So what are the most important? I’d be interested in your feedback or ideas? What of the following, for example, is worth discussing?
- Does he stand by his support for making David Shearer the new Labour Party leader?
- Where in fact is the Labour Party going?
- What about the Greens?
- Why is he so polarising? Does he seek to provoke?
- Who are his political heroes? What are his influences?
- How would he describe his political ideology?
- Did he really used to be a fascist sympathiser? What are his thoughts on socialism and revolution?
You can watch the interview with Chris Trotter live-streamed (or else, you’re welcome to come and join the audience), or follow enter the discussion and put your questions to Chris Trotter using the Twitter hashtag of #nzpoliticschat
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