New Zealand turns right and ends six years of labor

The centre-right National Party, led by the former chief executive of Air New Zealand, Christopher Luxontakes the reigns of New Zealand After the Labor leader and sitting president, with his preferred ally ACT, Chris HipkinsThe country has recognized that it cannot form a government after a general election surrounded by a cost-of-living crisis.

The incumbent Conservative opposition won 38.95% of the vote and the ACT 8.98%, while the ruling Labor Party ended its six-year reign with 26.9% of the vote. Right wing coalition He secured a total of 61 seats to lead the next administration (50 for National, 11 for ACT), compared to 52 on the left (34 for Labour). A total of 61 seats are required to form the government.

After the results were known, Hipkins became Labor leader in January After the sudden resignation of Jacinda Ardern, spoke from Wellington to admit his party’s defeat. “The way things are, Labor is in no position to form another government“, he declared. After adding that he had already called Lacson to congratulate him, he concluded that “the outcome was not what any of us wanted”.

The election results showed a dramatic shift to the right in what analysts described as a “bloodbath” for the government. “The main issue these elections dealt with is the economy and the rising cost of living caused by inflation,” Carl Löfgren, professor and director of the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington, explains to EL MUNDO.

Inflation under a Labor government reached 7.3% in March 2022, a 32-year high, and is currently at 6%. The biggest driver is food prices, which An increase of 12.3% in the twelve months to June 2023Figures are according to figures published by NZ.

The two groups debated different areas of public spending cuts: new taxes for Labor and public sector job cuts for the Conservatives. However, there was no remedy for the fatigue that had already dragged from Ardern’s game, and later from Hipkins.

“Most voters can agree that Ardern did a great job during the Christchurch shootings and the pandemic. The Labor government never met the targets Lofgren underscores that they have proposed (affordable housing, improving declining infrastructure, reforming the education system) in the 2017 and 2020 election campaigns. Add in taxes, mortgages and inflation, and “the fiscal situation has pushed marginal voters to the national side hoping for a change.” .

All New Zealand polling firms have released at least two polls since March showing the right-wing coalition favoring the left-wing coalition, with a clear resurgence for the right in the two months leading up to the election.

Although Labor gained five percentage points when Hipkins took office in January, with 38% of the vote, its popularity has since faded and it has not succeeded in managing the pandemic since. That’s why Ardern’s resignation didn’t surprise New Zealanders as much as the rest of the world. “Like Gorbachev, Jacinda Ardern was more popular overseas than in New Zealand When he resigned. “He saw support for his party dwindling and decided to jump ship before it affected his political reputation,” Lofgren says.

The only unknown to be resolved in the election is whether the National and Libertarian Party ACT coalition will be forced to include a third force – the populist New Zealand First – in its government pact. Winston Peters’ game was already there Kingmaker In 2017 with a left-wing coalition led by Ardern.

“We won!” And to loud applause, Lacson celebrated his victory on stage during a national election event in Auckland and congratulated New Zealand First leader Winston Peters on his party’s return to parliament.

Lacson exclaimed that Nasional won because it “listened to the nation.” “You voted for change. You have given us the mandate to move New Zealand forwardAs his followers chanted his campaign slogan, which promised to “get the country back on track”, he grew impatient and announced that his party’s priorities were to rebuild the economy, lower the cost of living and restore the country to law and order.