Gareth Morgan's spent the last month in Cuba "learning how to run a revolution properly".
The secret? "Forget votes," the leader of the Opportunities Party (TOP) told The AM Show on Thursday.
He might have been joking, but the outspoken economist and philanthropist is deadly serious about taking TOP into Parliament - but with a new leader.
"Let's stop the farce - I don't want to go into Parliament," Dr Morgan said.
"The plan is I go back into the back office and work my butt off on policy, and we have people who are natural politicians in the front helping with the selling of it."
Dr Morgan's brazen attitude rubbed many the wrong way during the election campaign. He lashed out at "femo-facsists", called Labour leader Jacinda Ardern "lipstick on a pig" and frequently got into lengthy late-night arguments with the public on social media.
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"I'm not very compromising. To me there's right and wrong, and if you compromise between right and wrong, you end up with incoherent soup," he said.
"When people just give you 'idiot wind', as I call it, I just give it back - with interest."
Contrary to what some of targets on Twitter might think, Dr Morgan insists he only argues about topics he's informed on.
"When there's topics raised I know nothing about, I actually shut up. You'll find a lot of people on social media who go on anyway."
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Dr Morgan will remain TOP leader until a replacement is found. He doesn't expect that to be Sean Plunket, who ran communications for the party - but is no stranger to controversy himself.
"Sean's got my issue, really," said Dr Morgan. "He doesn't compromise, he doesn't step back."
Deputy leader Geoff Simmons has resigned from the role, Dr Morgan saying he's exhausted after running in not just the General Election, but the preceding Mt Albert by-election - but may throw his hat in the ring at a future date.
Whoever the party does choose, Dr Morgan insists they'll have to be "ruggedly centrist" and able to work with both Labour and National.
"Labour, National makes no difference. I sort of prefer National's economic policy to be honest, but in terms of social equity and that, I prefer Labour."
Newshub.
