Hone Harawira did not exactly grace Parliament while he was there, so nobody would have been surprised at the manner of his departure. He did not accept defeat well, refusing to concede on election night, holding out for the final count. When that showed Labour's Kelvin Davis had beaten him by 739 votes he demanded a recount.
Once the 22,000 ballot papers had been recounted under the eye of a District Court judge at a cost of $30,000, the result was confirmed. Mr Harawira in fact had two votes fewer.
Generous things have been said about Mr Harawira's time in Parliament, as is customary at departure. Generosity is more gracious than true. As a person with no time for these niceties, Mr Harawira deserves an honest appraisal.
His performance in Parliament did not justify a public salary.
He proudly declared he was "an activist, not a politician" and he was right. He set his cap firmly against compromises, left the Maori Party for that reason and made no further contribution of note.
