NZ’s parliament protests were frightening but they don’t mean the country is splintering | Max Rashbrooke

Disagreement is a sign of healthy democratic debate not of dysfunction - and hard-core conspiracists remain marginal

The occupation of New Zealand's parliament was fractured from the outset: fascists vied for control with controversial pastors, conspiracy theorists and more moderate anti-mandate protesters. And even as the occupation violently collapsed with rioters lobbing cobblestones at police, the divisions remained. Some shouted burn it down", while others tried to restrain them.

As New Zealand reacts to some of its darkest days in recent memory, these internal rivalries are, obscurely, a hopeful sign - a reminder there was far more division inside the protest than between the protesters and the wider nation.