New Zealand: Conservative government in place - populists on board
New Zealand will have a conservative government with the participation of the populist New Zealand First party. Six weeks after the general election, the winner - the National Party of multimillionaire Christopher Luxon - has agreed on a three-party alliance with the right-wing liberal ACT and NZ First, which is known for its anti-immigration positions. The Pacific state has been governed by the social democratic Labor Party for the past six years, first under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and then by Chris Hipkins following her surprise resignation in January.
Luxon (53) will be the next Prime Minister of the Pacific state. He is to be sworn in on Monday. According to the deal, NZ First leader Winston Peters will serve as deputy head of government for the first 18 months of the three-year term and then be replaced by ACT leader David Seymour, the coalition partners announced on Friday. Peters will also become Foreign Minister.
Together, the parties have 67 seats in the 122-member parliament. The National Party and ACT alone only achieved 59 seats and thus fell short of the required majority. The agreement was preceded by "long, difficult and complicated talks", emphasized Peters (78). The National Party had scored particularly well in the election campaign with promises to cut taxes, while New Zealand First had mainly attracted attention with slogans against immigrants.
The three-party alliance between the National Party, ACT, and NZ First will allow Luxon to become the Prime Minister, as they collectively hold 67 seats in the 122-member Parliament. During the first 18 months of the three-year term, Winston Peters from NZ First will serve as the deputy head of government and also take on the role of Foreign Minister.
Source: www.dpa.com
