Negotiations took place for six weeks and New Zealand now has a conservative government. The three-party alliance also includes the New Zealand First populists, who are known for their anti-immigrant positions.
New Zealand gets a conservative government with participation from the populist New Zealand First party. Six weeks after the general election, the election winner – the National Party of multimillionaire Christopher Luxon – agreed on a three-party alliance with the right-wing liberal ACT and NZ First, known for its anti-immigrant positions.
The Pacific state had been governed by the social democratic Labor Party for the past six years, initially under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and, after her surprising resignation in January, by Chris Hipkins. Luxon (53) will be the next prime minister of the Pacific state. He is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday.
“Difficult and complicated conversations”
According to the deal, NZ First leader Winston Peters will serve as deputy leader for the first 18 months of the three-year term and will then be replaced by ACT leader David Seymour, coalition partners said. 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, falling short of the required majority.
The agreement was preceded by “long, difficult and complicated discussions,” emphasized Peters. The National Party particularly scored points in the election campaign with promises of tax cuts, while New Zealand First particularly attracted attention with slogans against immigrants.