The media keep harping on about how unpalatable Hone Harawira is to the wider electorate, but it's not the wider electorate that matters - this is all about the Maori constituency. The fundamental issue is - are Maori willing to make incremental (and possibly very slow) behind-the-scenes progress in achieving their goals, or are they so raddled with grievance that any hint of collaboration is unacceptable?
Taking the Palestinian electoral situation of Fatah/Hamas, it's clear that Hamas was able to take advantage of powerful feelings of national hurt and anger by taking a hardline stance.
From a disinterested observer perspective, it's hard to see strong similarities between the respective plights of the Palestinians and Maori. Israel is a loooooong way from showing enough guilt or remorse to introduce positive discrimination and ethnic political quotas.
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