The conservative New Zealand National Party won the country’s election on Saturday and will regain control of the government after six years in opposition. With the count almost complete (98%), the National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, leads with 39.1% of the vote, while the centre-left Labor Party, led by current Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, has 26.8%. According to the Election Commission. The Conservatives’ victory represents a sharp turnaround from the 2020 election, in which former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who resigned in January this year, was elected.
Luxon thanked the country for its “vote for change” that would return his party to power. “Numbers tonight [de sábado] Show it [o
Partido Nacional] “He will be able to lead the next government,” Luxon told a crowd of supporters in Auckland. Luxon, who has been an MP for three years, promised: “To all those who voted for the National Party, we won’t let you down, and to all those who didn’t vote for us, we won’t let you down either.” Previously, he served as CEO of New Zealand airline Air New Zealand between 2012 and 2019. In turn, Hipkins admitted defeat and claimed to have called Luxon to congratulate him.
The Conservative results exceeded the scenario presented by the opinion polls – under which the National Party would get 34% of the vote – and ended six years of Labour’s rule. Former Prime Minister Jacinda Arden achieved a landslide victory in 2020, receiving nearly 50% of the vote, but resigned earlier this year, leaving Hipkins in power.
The Liberal ACT party, which could form an alliance with the National Party in Parliament, received 9% of the vote in the final stage of counting, while Labour’s traditional allies, the Greens and Māori Party, had 10.8% and 2%. 6%, respectively. The nationalist party NZ First got 6.5%. The results show that the Conservatives can form a coalition to govern with a slim parliamentary majority, in contrast to Jordan’s landslide victory in 2020.
A staunch supporter of getting tough on urban crime, Luxon has promised to lower inflation, cut public spending and stimulate the economy by attracting investment, with nods to Chinese infrastructure capital and lower taxes, among other promises. The elections in New Zealand, with a population of about 5.1 million, were mainly marked by the impact of high inflation (6%), crime, the climate crisis, and the emergence of China in its foreign policy.
