This week on the Raw Politics podcast: Can the Greens save Labour and the left bloc between now and the election, and Mr Hipkins goes to Brussels.



On the eve of the Green Party's annual meeting, the Raw Politics team looks at its leader James Shaw, its policies so far and what it might do to bolster the left bloc's chances of retaining power.

This time a year ago Shaw faced an effective vote of no confidence, but political editor Jo Moir says he's learned and changed to meet the needs of the Greens base, and senior writer Marc Daalder says this year will be all quiet on the leadership front.

With the Greens polling somewhere between 7 and 12 percent in various polls they are still tracking historically well and the left bloc is tracking marginally upwards on polls of polls since about January.

The team also discusses Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' success in China and what that means for his next visit, from this weekend, to Nato's summit in Vilnius, Lithuania and to the EU in Brussels to sign our Free Trade Agreement with the union.

This week's question asks if Taieri MP Ingrid Leary really thought she was at an Electoral Commission enrolment meeting when she joined a gathering of the Mongrel Mob in Dunedin.

And our recommended reads include a fascinating look at extreme groups urging new Nuremberg-style trials, a University of Otago essay asking What if the Māori Health Authority actually works, and an evocative Herald story from inside a seedy, political celebrity debate.



Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians’ performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.