NZ election highlights country’s divisions
New Zealanders have gone to the polls, and Helen Clarke’s Labour Party has been returned, but the make up of the coalition is far from certain. With Labour beating Don Brash’s National Party by just one seat, the minor parties are now jostling to be included in the coalition government. For Helen Clarke, balancing the interests of the minor parties needed to govern will not be easy, especially as the religious centreist United Future party and the Conservative New Zealand First party are reluctant to work with the Greens, who backed Labour in the election. However the most interesting development is the success of the newly formed Maori party, under leader Tariana Turia, which picked up four seats, yet advocates a platform that is likely to be unpopular with half of a divided country. Dr Jon Johansson is a Political Scientist from Victoria University in Wellington. He spoke earlier to the Wire’s Bill Birtles about the upshot of the election and why Helen Clarke is reluctant to include the Maori party in a coaltion.