New Zealand's Luxon Secures Deal to Form Coalition Government

Facts

• New Zealand's center-right National Party, which won the largest share of votes in the country's general election on Oct. 14, announced Thursday it had secured an agreement with ACT New Zealand and New Zealand First to form a majority government.¹
• The prospective coalition government will hold approximately 53% of the nation's popular vote, with the National Party receiving 38% of public support in October compared to 9% and 6% for ACT and New Zealand First, respectively.²
• Following the news, National Party leader and incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stated that he was 'really proud' of the negotiation process, claiming that while each party 'made concessions,' there was 'massive alignment' on New Zealand's future direction.³
• Luxon added that it's anticipated that Parliament will recommence on Dec. 5, with the new government hoping to be sworn in on Nov. 27. The deal — still pending ratification — is expected to be signed and formally announced on Friday.⁴
• It hasn't yet been publicly confirmed who will assume the role of deputy prime minister, with Luxon commenting that discussions of 'ministerial responsibilities' have focused upon 'using the talent across all three parties.' The role is expected to go to either ACT leader David Seymour or New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.⁵
• The news comes as a poll conducted by Talbot Mills Research taken from Nov. 17-22 found that 66% of adults believed negotiations between the three parties were 'taking too long,' an increase of 6% from a week prior. Meanwhile, 33% blamed Peters for the length of negotiations, compared to 24% for Luxon and 4% for Seymour.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Independent, ³1 news, ⁴Rnz, ⁵Nz herald and ⁶Scoop news.

Narratives

• Right narrative, as provided by Newstalkzb.co.nz. New Zealand's newfound coalition agreement provides an opportunity for stability and positivity within politics, which simply never occurred under Labour. For New Zealand, real politics is back on the menu — hopefully replacing the continual stream of inept mistakes witnessed under the left in years prior.
• Left narrative, as provided by The daily blog. Despite positive rhetoric, Luxon's inability to form a timely coalition government will likely only embolden ACT and New Zealand First to impose their wills upon New Zealand's political future. There seem to be too many self-interested egos steering the ship for this government to even remotely provide success. It wouldn't be a surprise if the right-wing coalition crumbles quicker than it took them to come together.