Ex-Trader Key Voted New Zealand Premier
Discussion
Bloomberg said:
New Zealand's National Party defeated the ruling Labour Party in today's election, with former Merrill Lynch & Co. trader John Key ending Helen Clark's nine-year tenure as prime minister after the economy fell into recession.
Clark, 58, announced in Auckland tonight she would quit as Labour leader by the end of the year.
``As is obvious to all, tonight has not been our night,'' Clark told supporters as she conceded defeat shortly before midnight. ``I accept responsibility for the result.''
Key, 47, campaigned under the slogan ``Choosing a Brighter Future,'' and pledged tax cuts to help revive a $130 billion economy mired in recession. His center-right party was rated the better manager of the economy by half of the 700 voters surveyed this month by the New Zealand Herald, helping him boost his vote in today's election. Labour's support fell 7 percentage points.
Key's Nationals won about 45.5 percent of the vote, according to the Chief Electoral Office Web site. Labour had 33.8 percent of the votes counted. The final numbers may change after absentee votes are included in coming days.
``National grew its vote at the expense of its enemies rather than its allies, and that's what they had to do,'' Therese Arseneau, a senior fellow in politics and communications at Canterbury University, told Television New Zealand.
Clark was seeking to become the first Labour Party leader to win four elections after winning power in 1999. She has led the party since 1993.
Recession Blow
She presided over nine years of growth until the combined impact of a drought, a housing slump and soaring energy costs caused the economy this year to slip into its first recession in 10 years.
Clark responded by cutting taxes for the first time since 2000 as plunging financial markets turned the election campaign into a referendum on managing the economy.
Labour's ``Strong, Proven Leadership'' election slogan sought to question whether voters could trust the National Party not to slash spending. In the end, voters in New Zealand's provincial seats and in large parts of Auckland, the most populous city, swung in behind National.
``National has made huge inroads in the vote in Auckland,'' Arseneau said.
National will have 59 seats in the 122-seat parliament, meaning Key will have to look to allies such as ACT New Zealand to govern.
Roger Douglas
ACT won 3.7 percent of the vote and will have five seats in parliament, including Roger Douglas, who was Finance Minister in the 1984-1990 Labour government. United Future will also support the National Party, giving the governing bloc 65 seats.
Labour will have 43 seats and with the Green Party and the Progressives will form a 52-seat opposition block. The non- aligned Maori Party won five electorate seats.
In 2005, Labour won 49 seats to National's 48 percent and Clark was able to form a government by relying on support from four smaller parties.
One of those, New Zealand First, didn't make it back to the new parliament and leader Winston Peters, former foreign affairs minister in the previous government, conceded his Tauranga seat.
A record 2.98 million voters were registered to vote today. The nation's population is 4.1 million. Voting is not compulsory.
Under the proportional voting system, New Zealanders cast two ballots, one for a party and the other for a candidate in their constituency.
Seats in New Zealand's 122-member parliament are allocated based on each party's share of the popular vote. Parties that receive less than 5 percent support can only enter parliament provided one of their candidates wins a seat.
Source: http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&si...Clark, 58, announced in Auckland tonight she would quit as Labour leader by the end of the year.
``As is obvious to all, tonight has not been our night,'' Clark told supporters as she conceded defeat shortly before midnight. ``I accept responsibility for the result.''
Key, 47, campaigned under the slogan ``Choosing a Brighter Future,'' and pledged tax cuts to help revive a $130 billion economy mired in recession. His center-right party was rated the better manager of the economy by half of the 700 voters surveyed this month by the New Zealand Herald, helping him boost his vote in today's election. Labour's support fell 7 percentage points.
Key's Nationals won about 45.5 percent of the vote, according to the Chief Electoral Office Web site. Labour had 33.8 percent of the votes counted. The final numbers may change after absentee votes are included in coming days.
``National grew its vote at the expense of its enemies rather than its allies, and that's what they had to do,'' Therese Arseneau, a senior fellow in politics and communications at Canterbury University, told Television New Zealand.
Clark was seeking to become the first Labour Party leader to win four elections after winning power in 1999. She has led the party since 1993.
Recession Blow
She presided over nine years of growth until the combined impact of a drought, a housing slump and soaring energy costs caused the economy this year to slip into its first recession in 10 years.
Clark responded by cutting taxes for the first time since 2000 as plunging financial markets turned the election campaign into a referendum on managing the economy.
Labour's ``Strong, Proven Leadership'' election slogan sought to question whether voters could trust the National Party not to slash spending. In the end, voters in New Zealand's provincial seats and in large parts of Auckland, the most populous city, swung in behind National.
``National has made huge inroads in the vote in Auckland,'' Arseneau said.
National will have 59 seats in the 122-seat parliament, meaning Key will have to look to allies such as ACT New Zealand to govern.
Roger Douglas
ACT won 3.7 percent of the vote and will have five seats in parliament, including Roger Douglas, who was Finance Minister in the 1984-1990 Labour government. United Future will also support the National Party, giving the governing bloc 65 seats.
Labour will have 43 seats and with the Green Party and the Progressives will form a 52-seat opposition block. The non- aligned Maori Party won five electorate seats.
In 2005, Labour won 49 seats to National's 48 percent and Clark was able to form a government by relying on support from four smaller parties.
One of those, New Zealand First, didn't make it back to the new parliament and leader Winston Peters, former foreign affairs minister in the previous government, conceded his Tauranga seat.
A record 2.98 million voters were registered to vote today. The nation's population is 4.1 million. Voting is not compulsory.
Under the proportional voting system, New Zealanders cast two ballots, one for a party and the other for a candidate in their constituency.
Seats in New Zealand's 122-member parliament are allocated based on each party's share of the popular vote. Parties that receive less than 5 percent support can only enter parliament provided one of their candidates wins a seat.
So a good turnout as well
. Hopefully we chose the right guy, fingers crossed.Isn't it about time you lot sorted yourselves out with a nice moderate right wing party?
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