Since we have a handful of kiwis in this forum it might be worth a thread to discuss the New Zealand general election happening next week (advanced voting is already open, and I have already voted).
For the non-kiwis here I will introduce the contenders. NZ uses a proportional system where people vote for a party and each party's percentage vote share is translated into seats in the 120 seat parliament. Typically about 7 parties get seats and typically a government is formed from a coalition of one of the two major parties together in coalition with one of the two medium-sized parties or a couple of the tiny minor parties.
Major parties (typical vote share ~40% each):
National:
A right-wing party of big-business and farmers. Loves tax cuts, and cutting benefits to poor people, and talking about the economy. Historically a socially conservative party, now split roughly 50/50 between more liberal-leaning atheists (e.g. their previous leader) and more socially conservative Christians (e.g. their current leader). Their previous leader who lead them to great success and won elections for them for 9 years, was wildly popular because of his nice smile, charismatic appearance, and the popular belief that he would be a great guy to have a beer with. After his sudden and unexplained resignation in December last year, the leadership fell to a boring guy who seems a bit uncomfortable in his own skin and who previously in 2002 led the party to its worst ever election result (21%).
Leader Bill English:
Labour:
A center / center-left party historically of unions and working people. Loves spending on government programs. In the 80s it abandoned its historical roots and swung far to the right (past National) in an all-out paroxysm of deregulation and embrace of neoliberalism. It has gradually drifted back towards the left. From 2000-2008 it governed as a moderate and fiscally responsible party generating large surpluses and putting the country in a very good financial position, but doing very little else that could be called 'left-wing'. From 2008 to 2016, it has had leadership issues and gone through 5 leaders, replacing its leader as recently as last month. However the latest leader is wildly popular, and she is a 37 year-old progressive who is polling extremely well, and seems to be taking the party further left back towards its positions of the 1970s and she has explicitly stated her rejection of the neoliberalism of the 80s-2000s. Jeremy Corbyn of UK fame has endorsed her.
Leader Jacinda Ardern:
Medium-sized parties (typical vote share ~10% each):
New Zealand First:
A populist party in the style of the "Make America Great Again" campaign of Trump. Anti-immigration, a tad of racism, anti-trade agreements, economic protectionism, coupled with a desire for improved healthcare, improved superannuation etc. This party often espouses conservative moral positions (e.g. was the only party to vote 100% against same sex marriage) while combining them with left-wing economic positions (e.g. wanting to spend more on government programs). This is the party that racist grandmas everywhere love. Its leader is a bit of a roguish scoundrel who revels in finding government scandals he can harp on about, while occasionally being involved in some sort of corruption scandal himself. His political reputation was permanently tarred when he campaigned one election against National and then promptly went into a coalition with them immediately after the election, leading many people to see him as a selfish person who is more interested in himself and power for himself than he is in his policies.
Leader Winston Peters:
Green:
A progressive party concerned about the environment, social justice, and economic inequality. Largely identical to Green parties in the US and UK. The Greens were polling at their highest ever amount (15%) until a couple of months ago when a scandal hit one of their leaders and she resigned (the Greens always have two leaders, a male and a female), leaving them with only 1 leader this election. He is well-liked however and combines a business background with good speaking skills.
Leader James Shaw:
Here is how PoliticalCompass.org plots the parties:
Polling: Polls have been a bit varied, a poll from today has National 40, Labour 40, Greens 9, NZ First 6. If I were a betting man, I would place my money on the next government being a Labour + Greens + possibly a minor party, but it could well be National + NZ First + possibly a minor party.
I'm personally excited because if we get at Labour + Green government, it will be the first time the Greens have ever been in government (I typically vote Green and did this election), and Labour is currently the most left-leaning and progressive that it has been since the 70s, so NZ would then have the most left/progressive government of my lifetime. I assume also that we would also have the youngest leader in NZ history.
For the non-kiwis here I will introduce the contenders. NZ uses a proportional system where people vote for a party and each party's percentage vote share is translated into seats in the 120 seat parliament. Typically about 7 parties get seats and typically a government is formed from a coalition of one of the two major parties together in coalition with one of the two medium-sized parties or a couple of the tiny minor parties.
Major parties (typical vote share ~40% each):
National:
A right-wing party of big-business and farmers. Loves tax cuts, and cutting benefits to poor people, and talking about the economy. Historically a socially conservative party, now split roughly 50/50 between more liberal-leaning atheists (e.g. their previous leader) and more socially conservative Christians (e.g. their current leader). Their previous leader who lead them to great success and won elections for them for 9 years, was wildly popular because of his nice smile, charismatic appearance, and the popular belief that he would be a great guy to have a beer with. After his sudden and unexplained resignation in December last year, the leadership fell to a boring guy who seems a bit uncomfortable in his own skin and who previously in 2002 led the party to its worst ever election result (21%).
Leader Bill English:
Labour:
A center / center-left party historically of unions and working people. Loves spending on government programs. In the 80s it abandoned its historical roots and swung far to the right (past National) in an all-out paroxysm of deregulation and embrace of neoliberalism. It has gradually drifted back towards the left. From 2000-2008 it governed as a moderate and fiscally responsible party generating large surpluses and putting the country in a very good financial position, but doing very little else that could be called 'left-wing'. From 2008 to 2016, it has had leadership issues and gone through 5 leaders, replacing its leader as recently as last month. However the latest leader is wildly popular, and she is a 37 year-old progressive who is polling extremely well, and seems to be taking the party further left back towards its positions of the 1970s and she has explicitly stated her rejection of the neoliberalism of the 80s-2000s. Jeremy Corbyn of UK fame has endorsed her.
Leader Jacinda Ardern:
Medium-sized parties (typical vote share ~10% each):
New Zealand First:
A populist party in the style of the "Make America Great Again" campaign of Trump. Anti-immigration, a tad of racism, anti-trade agreements, economic protectionism, coupled with a desire for improved healthcare, improved superannuation etc. This party often espouses conservative moral positions (e.g. was the only party to vote 100% against same sex marriage) while combining them with left-wing economic positions (e.g. wanting to spend more on government programs). This is the party that racist grandmas everywhere love. Its leader is a bit of a roguish scoundrel who revels in finding government scandals he can harp on about, while occasionally being involved in some sort of corruption scandal himself. His political reputation was permanently tarred when he campaigned one election against National and then promptly went into a coalition with them immediately after the election, leading many people to see him as a selfish person who is more interested in himself and power for himself than he is in his policies.
Leader Winston Peters:
Green:
A progressive party concerned about the environment, social justice, and economic inequality. Largely identical to Green parties in the US and UK. The Greens were polling at their highest ever amount (15%) until a couple of months ago when a scandal hit one of their leaders and she resigned (the Greens always have two leaders, a male and a female), leaving them with only 1 leader this election. He is well-liked however and combines a business background with good speaking skills.
Leader James Shaw:
Here is how PoliticalCompass.org plots the parties:
Polling: Polls have been a bit varied, a poll from today has National 40, Labour 40, Greens 9, NZ First 6. If I were a betting man, I would place my money on the next government being a Labour + Greens + possibly a minor party, but it could well be National + NZ First + possibly a minor party.
I'm personally excited because if we get at Labour + Green government, it will be the first time the Greens have ever been in government (I typically vote Green and did this election), and Labour is currently the most left-leaning and progressive that it has been since the 70s, so NZ would then have the most left/progressive government of my lifetime. I assume also that we would also have the youngest leader in NZ history.
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