Cross-Party Relationships

Pamziewmzie blogs about the perils of hooking up with someone from another party. She is Labour-aligned and her companion was from ACT.

The funniest part for me was that Mr ACT didn’t just try and sleep with her, but also tried to convince her to join or support ACT – now that’s promoting the party at every opportunity!

There are two sorts of cross-party relationships I have seen. One is those on the same side of the spectrum such as National/ACT or Labour/Alliance. I know of several National/ACT marriages and a couple more which will probably end up married. And the blogosphere used to have a Labour/Alliance husband and wife.

The other sort is across the political divide such as National/Labour or ACT/Greens etc etc. These ones, in my experience, are heaps of fun. You see there is so much to talk about – you are always probing each other’s arguments, finding out areas you do agree on, and they on average tend to be more passionate than dating people within your own party. There is also the fun of either keeping it secret from your friends, or shocking them that you are together.

I know a few people (including one now Labour MP who told me she would never ever sleep with a right winger on principle) who only date people who share the same views as them. I’m the opposite – I love the friction, the debates, the shared passion for politics etc. The relationships don’t always last until death do you part, but they are fun.