New Zealand finally agrees makeup of coalition government after weeks of uncertainty
Leaders of three parties arrive at deal to form government led by incoming prime minister Christopher Luxon
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Your support makes all the difference.New Zealand’s political parties have finally reached an agreement to form a coalition government, bringing an end to a weeks-long political deadlock after general elections.
The leaders of three political parties said on Thursday that they had arrived at a deal to form the next government.
A formal signing ceremony to cement their coalition is expected to be held in parliament on Friday, they said.
“I’m really proud of the negotiations,” said New Zealand’s incoming prime minister Christopher Luxon.
“When you see the agreements tomorrow, you’ll understand how comprehensive they are. We’ve covered a tremendous amount of material.”
The leader of the centre-right National Party told reporters his swearing-in ceremony will take place on Monday.
The National Party reached an alliance with the conservative Act and populist New Zealand First parties, giving it enough seats to govern.
The agreement breaks nearly six weeks of political deadlock after the 14 October general election.
The National Party had secured a narrow victory over the incumbent Labour party. It had initially clinched a slim majority to form a coalition government with the right-wing Act party.
But this majority had diminished when supplementary voting results, including special votes, were revealed three weeks later.
The National Party had to turn to a third party, the nationalist New Zealand First, to attain the necessary 61-seat majority for government formation.
Mr Luxon’s party won 38 per cent of the votes, with David Seymour’s Act and Winston Peters’s New Zealand First winning 9 and 6 per cent respectively.
The incoming prime minister said the full coalition deal with the two other parties will be released on Friday, with an announcement of ministerial positions later that afternoon.
Outgoing prime minister Chris Hipkins of the Labour party had declared that he wouldn’t work with Mr Peters and conceded to Mr Luxon on election night.
Mr Hipkins had the top job for just nine months after former prime minister Jacinda Arden abruptly stepped down in January, saying she no longer had “enough in the tank” to do the job justice.
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