Labour looks for Green support after NZ election

Helen Clark's political foes call her "Red Helen", harking back to her days as a student firebrand. Now her Labour government looks set to be tinged with green after she failed to win an outright majority in New Zealand's general election yesterday.

Ms Clark claimed victory in her quest for a second term after Labour secured the largest share of seats, but she will have to form an alliance with a minority party – probably the Greens – in order to govern. Jeanette Fitzgerald, co-leader of the Green Party, said she had offered support to a Labour-led government.

Labour was on course to win 41 per cent of the vote, or 52 seats in the 120-member parliament, three more than last time. The Greens looked likely to take eight seats, and two Labour-aligned MPs from a splinter party would give Ms Clark a slim majority.

Draped in garlands of flowers by her supporters, she told a crowd in her Auckland electorate: "I am pleased to say that I will be able to form a Labour-led government for a second term." She said she was "confident that tonight's result delivers another stable, progressive government".

Ms Clark, 52, is the first woman to win two consecutive elections in New Zealand. But the Greens may prove problematic partners as they have threatened to withdraw support if a moratorium on genetically engineered crops is lifted next year. Labour has refused to extend it.

The main opposition National Party also made history yesterday, slumping to its worst ever result, losing 12 seats to hold just 27. Despite that, the party's leader, Bill English, pledged to stay in his job in order to rebuild his party.