Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. Well, sorry, it's the law. We measure how many people read us, and ensure you see relevant ads, by storing cookies on your device. If you're cool with that, hit “Accept all Cookies”. For more info and to customize your settings, hit “Customize Settings”.

Review and manage your consent

Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and how to manage them. You can also change your choices at any time, by hitting the “Your Consent Options” link on the site's footer.

Manage Cookie Preferences
  • These cookies are strictly necessary so that you can navigate the site as normal and use all features. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect.

  • These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

  • These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. They allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. If people say no to these cookies, we do not know how many people have visited and we cannot monitor performance.

See also our Cookie policy and Privacy policy.

This article is more than 1 year old

Dotcom owns up: my name was 'poison'

Readies grand exit from politics after dismal election

In the wake of his failure to make a dent in New Zealand politics, Kim Dotcom has said his name alone spoiled the chances for the alliance of the Internet Party and the Mana Movement.

The result was truly dismal: the Internet Party failed to secure a seat, and Mana's leader Hone Harawira lost his seat, as New Zealand's conservative National Party led by Dotcom's arch-enemy John Key swept back into power with 48.1 per cent of the vote.

Conceding the defeat, Doctom said “We lost tonight, but we did not lose because of our leadership – we had great leadership. We did not lose because of our campaign – we had a great campaign, and we did not lose because of our vision, because we had a great vision. I have to admit that we lost because of me.”

He also apologised to Maoris, saying they had lost a voice in parliament because of him.

Dotcom's “big reveal” late in the campaign, for which he flew Glenn Greenwald in to support his accusations of mass spying on Kiwis, but his thunder was stolen by the New Zealand Herald.

Ahead of Dotcom's town hall meeting last week, the Herald ran what was to be the centrepiece of his claim: that Hollywood had persuaded Key's government to support Dotcom's bid for NZ residency in spite of his prior convictions. With the e-mail already denounced as a fake before his public meeting, much of the sting was lost.

Dotcom has now hinted at a withdrawal from the Internet Party he originally funded with millions of his own money. ®

Similar topics

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like