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Next NZ government awaits minor party decision

New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English says it could take weeks for the country to form a new government after a weekend general election left a nationalist minor party in the role of kingmaker.

Sep 25, 2017, updated Sep 25, 2017
National Party leader Bill English addresses supporters on election night in Auckland. Photo: AAP/Robert Lowe

National Party leader Bill English addresses supporters on election night in Auckland. Photo: AAP/Robert Lowe

The incumbent National Party took 46 per cent of the vote on Saturday, well ahead of the challenging Labour Party’s 35.8 per cent, but New Zealand’s proportional representation system means neither won enough seats in parliament to govern alone.

National secured 58 seats ahead of a possible coalition of 52 seats between Labour, which experienced a surge in popularity under new leader Jacinda Ardern, and the Green Party. That left both still needing NZ First’s nine seats to reach the 61 seats required to form a government.

English said he had not yet spoken to NZ First’s leader Winston Peters, a veteran maverick politician who has served as a cabinet minister in both previous National and Labour governments, but said it was likely talks would take “two to three weeks.”

Peters, an outspoken critic of New Zealand’s recent immigration boom, has previously backed the party with the largest number of votes.

While both National and Labour are expected to adhere to fiscal prudence, they will likely differ on monetary policy, trade and immigration.

Some expect Labour’s plans to cut migration and renegotiate some trade policies will hurt two key sources of growth for New Zealand’s small, open economy.

There is also some concern about what NZ First will demand in return for supporting the winning party. Peters has lobbied for more currency intervention by the central bank, which would weigh on the Kiwi, the world’s 11th most traded currency.

A final tally of the election results are due on October 7, when “special votes”, which will make up 15 per cent of the total and which includes overseas votes, are released. English remains prime minister in the interim.

 

On Sunday leader Jacinda Ardern said a majority of people had voted against the status quo.

“What New Zealanders want us to focus on is forming a credible, stable government.”

She’s including NZ First when she talks about a majority voting against the status quo, although Peters didn’t give any indication before the election which party he would support after it.

He still hasn’t.

After a night to sleep on it, Peters wasn’t giving anything away.

He said he would not be making a decision without consulting the party board and his MP colleagues.

Ardern will be talking to the Greens, Labour’s natural partner, and Peters to try to forge a three-way coalition.

– AAP

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