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There were never any points in guessing who would stand for James Shaw’s vacated co-leadership position. ����

If bookies were paying odds, Chloe Swarbrick would be paying out about $1.01.����

And for good reason – not only is she the only realistic option, she’s by far the best option for the party. ����

She was a little green island during the 2020 red-wave election, winning the previously safe Labour seat of Auckland Central.����

Three years later, she retained the electorate and extended her share of the vote. ����

She’s one of the best orators in the House and, aside from Shaw and Marama Davidson, she’s the most well-known Green MP in Parliament.����

In fact, in three of the four 1��һ�ǿ����� polls before last year's election she out-polled both co-leaders in the preferred Prime Minister rankings.����

Now she’s thrown her hat in the ring for co-leader, expect her star to keep rising. ����

This will of course be good news for the Green Party. ����

Over the next month and a half, Swarbrick will embark on the great green expedition around the country – lobbying various party branches to support her in her co-leadership quest.����

The increased coverage of her crusade will start to see the party’s poll numbers creep up. �� ����

But there are only so many votes on the left. ����

As much as Labour and Green insiders might disagree, when one party is riding high – the other tends to suffer. ����

Ahead of the 2017 election, the Greens were soaring: Polling between 12-15 per cent. Labour, meanwhile, was languishing in the mid-20s. ��

Then came a circuit breaker by the name of Jacinda Ardern. ����

And as her star rose, the Greens fell – not helped by the messy resignation of Metiria Turei.����

Now, the Greens have their own circuit breaker and to make matters better for the party, they’re not starting from a low base. ����

If she wins the co-leadership race, which she will, Swarbrick will take her party into uncharted polling territory. ����

But popularity can only take a party so far. Successful politicians are ruthless, and she’s already showing early signs she’s a killer. ����

In her press statement announcing her co-leadership bid, Swarbrick made a rather ambitious goal, when speaking about supercharging the party at an “even greater scale”.����

“It means more Greens MPs in Parliament and ultimately, our nation’s first Green-led Government.”����

She went further when speaking to press, saying under her watch, the Greens will be the leading movement of the political left. ����

“It’s abundantly clear to New Zealanders out there that the legacy parties are just that – they do not represent the future of this country.”����

A dig at not just National, but would-be bedfellows Labour. ����

Swarbrick knows that prosperity for the Greens will mean pain for Labour and she’s not side-stepping the issue. ����

In fact, she’s front-footing it.����

Her declared candidacy was a message of hope for party faithful, but also a shot across the bow at Labour; and a well-timed one at that. ����

For the first time in six years, Labour MPs are battling irrelevance as they navigate the wilderness of opposition. ����

No longer the picture of strength and unity it was under Ardern, left-leaning voters might start to wander – and wander straight into the Greens camp. ����

Right where Swarbrick wants them.����

But she’ll need an awful lot of them to walk away from Labour to fulfil��her dream of one day, being the first Green Prime Minister. ����

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