Hone the apologist

We don't think that apologies come easily to Hone Harawira; they're not in his DNA. But he's had to make at least two in the last couple of days.

We blogged this morning about Harawira's comments honouring Osama bin Laden as a freedom fighter, and that the al-Qaeda terrorist leader should "be "honoured" rather than "damned" in death according to Maori culture". It hasn't taken long for him to have to bow to public pressure and opporibrium - the Herald reports:

Hone Harawira has apologised for comments he made describing dead terrorist Osama bin Laden as a freedom fighter.

"My mihi to the Bin Laden's family was seen by some as support for Bin Laden's actions," he said in a statement.

"This was a mistake and was not intended. Using terror for political reasons is never acceptable."

It's just a shame that Hone Harawira didn't make himself clearer in the first instance. But the second apology is even more significant; or at least the cause of it is - Duncan Garner blogs:

Four years ago I told a bunch of journalists at a training day that a "politician's default setting was to lie". I was immediately attacked by the Prime Minister of the day, Helen Clark. She said I was too cynical and wrong.

But once again I want to prove my point. On Saturday Hone Harawira lied to me. I use that word very carefully.

I asked him live on The Nation on Saturday morning if he was going to force a by-election in Te Tai Tokerau. He replied, it wasn't on his agenda at all. To me, he assured the people of New Zealand it wasn't going to happen.

He told my colleague Patrick Gower the same thing, the day before.

To me Hone not only misled, but he knowingly misled. He lied to me. He didn't tell the truth. Within an hour of his interview on The Nation he announced a by-election.

We saw the interview between Garner and Harawira at the weekend, and we read the transcript when we were preparing the blog-post referred to above earlier this morning. Hone Harawira told a bare-faced lie to Garner, and to everyone who was watching The Nation. As Garner notes, less than an hour later, he told the truth at the Mana Party launch.

Garner notes that Harawira has since apologised to him - read on:

To Hone's credit, he rang me yesterday and apologised. He accepted it wasn't good enough and in part blamed his advisers. I blame him. He's the politician. It's his credibility. It's his reputation. He has to own it.

In my past dealings with Hone I had some respect for him. He has been reasonably upfront in the past. He returns phone calls and he has strong positions. To me, until now, he has been pretty straight. He stands for something. He's loud, he's proud.

But he's let himself down. And I suspect he knows it. He failed the truth test. Not once, but twice.

Shame on you Hone. What happens next time you tell me something? Am I meant to believe you?

Garner is right to publicly chastise Harawira for this, even though an apology has been forthcoming. Like it or not, we live in an era where the media has a considerable degree of influence on the political process. By deliberately lying to Duncan Garner, Hone Harawira has made his election year journey a whole lot tougher; he's made a rod for his own back.

Hone Harawira is getting a very rapid introduction to the world of political party leadership. If the Mana Party is to have any hope of success, he is going to have to smarten up his act, and do it quickly.