Red Squad
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Red Squad (May 2011- ) is a far-left, communist, political party that is currently active in New Zealand. It has been the longest lasting "communist" party in NZ political history and has recently seen its profile increase. It went under various guises prior to its present incarnation.
History- Red Block
The Red Squad was originally founded in May, 2011 by veteran NZ communist and former Red label Party founder zoomenger. He left RLP after being PTO in the April 15 party president (PP) elections and joined the then morbid Partido Socialista de Chile, which had remained in NZ following Chile's defeat in the February war.
In the May 25 elections, he won the PP and subsequently renamed the party, the Red Block. He sought to realign it firmly with a communist ideology but kept a distance from his former party, the RLP. During this period, the party remained outside the top-five and therefore was relatively limited in what it could accomplish.
Red Squad
By late May, zoomenger sought to establish a new party, that was firmly rooted along a communist doctrine. He therefore disbanded the old "Red Block" and founded a new party, the Red Squad. He sought to bring the party into the mainstream of NZ politics and in the June 5, 2011 Presidential elections, he support RLP candidate Koska De STRAH in his losing bid.
Following this, zoomenger sought to build up the parties profile and worked to get it into the top-five. He issued the Commies are here manifesto, that outlined his vision for the party and the goals it wanted to accomplish. During this period, the party flirted with top-five status, as it and the Taranaki Tribe routinely traded the #5 position. Eventually, the party fell back to #6 and has generally been stalled in its growth.
The party had a breakthrough during the month of July. In the Presidential elections, it endorsed RLP candidate and eventually victor Kurojca. However, its real breakthrough came in the July 25 Parliamentary elections when it won 2 of 40 seats. This was the first time a communist party had earned representation in NZ.
It continued to remain an active party in NZ during the months of August and September. In both elections, it supported the RLP Presidential candidate (Splindza in August & Koska De STRAH in September) and contested Parliamentary elections. It returned to Parliament in September (1 seat) after being out during the month of August.
The party supported UIS candidate DaRkO 206 in the October Presidential elections. However, since the victory, the party has seen its membership suffer a sharp decline, dropping to a low of 11 members. Many have shifted to either the newly formed Love and Peace (L&P) or the resurgent UIS.
However, in the lead-up to the November parliamentary elections, the party choose to run 4 candidates and this time sought out aid from L&P. This paid off as the party elected 4 MP's, the most in its history. They agreed to support the administration of Helen Moon.
In the subsequent PP race, zoomenger was unopposed, thereby solidifying his hold over the party. Even the elected MP's did not bother to challenge him, with two eventually departing from the party to join L&P. In the December Presidential elections, the party shocked the NZ community when it supported Peace 'n' Prosperity Party candidate Mortalbeta, this was the first time the communist party had backed a centre-right party.
Party Presidents
| Month | Party President | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| May, June 2011 | zoomenager | Founder and former PP of Red label Party |
| July, 2011 | Fromic/zoomenager | Fromic PTO the party but resigned days later. |
| August- Present | zoomenager | 6x PP. Returned for a second term. |
