17 October 2023 - Leader of the New Zealand National Party Christopher Luxon becomes PM
New Zealand elects conservative Christopher Luxon as premier after 6 years of liberal rule
Nick Perry (Associated Press, 15/10/2023)
Conservative former businessman Christopher Luxon will be New Zealand’s next prime minister after winning a decisive election victory Saturday.
People voted for change after six years of a liberal government led for most of that time by Jacinda Ardern.
From a red tide in 2020 to blood on the floor in 2023 – NZ slams the door on Labour
Richard Shaw (The Conversation, 15/10/2023)
Close, but so far no “baubles of office” for Winston Peters and NZ First. “We have done the impossible,” he told supporters on election night. But as the old saying goes, politics is the art of the possible.
New Zealand in political limbo as National considers shape of coalition
Eva Corlett (The Guardian, 16/10/2023)
New Zealand could be stuck in political limbo for weeks as the newly elected National party waits to see if it can govern solely with its preferred coalition partner, Act, or whether the final vote tally will force it to work with populist party New Zealand First.
It’s National on the night as New Zealand turns right: 2023 election results at a glance
Debrin Foxcroft, Finlay Macdonald, Matt Garrow and Veronika Meduna (The Conversation, 4/10/2023)
From winning a single-party majority in 2020, Labour’s vote has virtually halved in 2023. Pre-election polls appear to have under-estimated support for National, which on the provisional results can form a government with ACT and won’t need NZ First, despite those same polls pointing to a three-way split.