Smalley says Greens should become a swing party

The Herald reports:

So the Greens await their fate, hinged to Labour largely because of their belief they are and will always be part of the principled left bloc. 
Where Labour goes, the Greens believe they have to follow. 

And this is a major flaw, I think. 

The Greens should be a swing party. In fact, in an ideal world James Shaw would be in coalition talks right now with Bill English, selling his party as a better coalition option then New Zealand First. Less volatile, less prickly, more predictable, more stable, younger, fresher, more reflective of the issues that are central to the concerns of the work force. 

And yet again, people have raised this question with me since the election. Why, they want to know, isn’t there a blue-green option in this country? Well, why indeed?

Once the dust settles on Election 2017, the Greens should rethink their strategy and rethink how they can best effect change. There is a very real appetite for a blue-green ideology in New Zealand – and James Shaw is the man to lead that change as the sole leader of the party.

Things look grim for the Greens with their current strategy. If Winston does pick Labour, then he’ll shut the Greens out. And then after that will be a period of National-led Governments for a while so the Greens probably won’t have a shot at being in Government until 2026 or so.

The Greens don’t have to be all things to all people. Campaign on two or three key environmental policies, and the same number of social policies too.

And that’s what you take into your coalition talks with either the left or the right. Work with either.

But just get into government and implement some change. That’s a far better option than positioning the Greens as a major party with a million bottom lines. If they maintain that approach, they’ll stay out of government forever.

Yep.