New Zealand votes for change as center-right parties set to form coalition

10/15/23
 
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from The Washington Post,
10/14/23:

New Zealand moved sharply to the right on Saturday with the National Party, led by businessman-turned-politician Christopher Luxon, poised to form a coalition with the libertarian ACT Party and make good on promises to cut government spending and taxes.

The general election result was a sharp rebuke to the center-left Labour Party, which has lost support as the economy has floundered and has suffered a series of political blows since Jacinda Ardern stepped down as prime minister in January.

Her successor, Chris Hipkins, conceded the election as National and ACT were together projected to win at least half of Parliament’s 120 seats. With 85 percent of the vote counted, they appeared able to form a coalition government without the support of the populist New Zealand First Party.

The Labour Party received only 26.5 percent of the total vote with 85 percent of ballots counted, and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta lost her seat.

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