📸

in large numbers had taken the giant German to their collective bosom. Even the village of Coatesville had taken him to their hearts, inviting him to speak at a village hall meeting at which they banned media at the door.

The profile Dotcom attained accorded him folk hero status from the outset. When he walked into Auckland City Hospital in March 2012 to see the newly arrived twins, strangers walked up to shake his hand, slap his back and wish him well. A high media profile and public outings only heightened the impact.

It wasn't just those he passed on the street, met at the court house or came to know through public meetings. In October 2012, he hosted the first party to be held at the mansion since the raid, welcoming the local branch of the Entrepreneurs' Organisation. It was packed with well-known, well-connected Auckland figures — many of whom mobbed Dotcom after he spoke to have their photograph taken with him.

At ease engaging with the business community, Dotcom was also adopted by those in showbiz and local politics. He joined Auckland mayor Len Brown at the city's stylish Franklin Road to welcome the festive season with the ritual switching on of the Christmas lights. At the event, he was approached by local stars of the small screen and stage to take a role in an adult-themed Christmas pantomime. He appeared in person on the first night and in a filmed form on subsequent performances. Comedians filmed sketches with him, in which he acted out a "Dr Evil"-type character. The skits were a hit — Dotcom's size, accent and mansion placed him just a white fluffy cat away from being the perfect Bond villain.

Dotcom interprets the contact as support — and a radical departure from the decade of obsessive obscurity prior to his arrival in New Zealand.

"I enjoy that people are on my side and they care," he says. "I think it is important that people care. If I lose then they lose. I think a lot of people recognise that — my case involves them and their freedoms, their rights. Instinctively, they understand that supporting me supports themselves."

A public outing with Dotcom is impossible. He turns his back on whoever he's with to talk to people eager for contact. "Wherever I go, people come up to me, shake my hand, tell me 'stay strong', 'I'm on your side'."

The support is likely to translate into a political project. Dotcom flirted through the year with the idea of supporting a political party. Politicians from a number of Opposition parties engaged — always secretive, always aware the tycoon was wanted for extradition. As the spying emerged, and politics moved to the fore, Dotcom contemplated launching his own political party to fight the 2014 elections.

📸