Incumbent New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern secured her re-election over the weekend via a landslide victory, with her Labour Party gaining 49% of the vote, well ahead of the conservative National Party, which garnered only 27% of the vote.
She delivered her victory speech in front of hundreds of people in Auckland, which is largely seen as a vindication of the success of her administration’s coronavirus policies. At present, there is no community transmission of COVID-19 in New Zealand, and residents are no longer required to wear face masks or socially distance from one another.
The Kiwi leader is widely celebrated for her compassionate and strong response to the Christchurch mosque attack last year that led to 51 deaths. In the aftermath of the event, her administration swiftly banned assault rifles. Labour’s victory is also seen as a resounding rejection of the populist New Zealand First and Advance NZ parties.
Ardern had previously hinted that she would be willing to form a coalition government; in fact, no party has won an outright majority since the country switched to a proportional voting system 24 years ago. Moreover, this is Labour’s biggest electoral victory in 50 years and represents somewhat of a historic moment in terms of the seats secured, given that New Zealand politics has traditionally been dominated by coalition-led governments. The Labour party has ruled in a coalition government with New Zealand First and the Green Party since 2017.
Ardern spoke with Green Party co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson to cement her standing as a “consensus builder”; the Green Party secured 10 seats in parliament. Nevertheless, she said that the ruling party would take two or three weeks to decide whether or not to move forward with a coalition. The Labour Party has been in somewhat of an uneasy partnership with the New Zealand First party, given the latter’s nationalist outlook compared to Ardern’s more left-leaning vision.
The Greens, however, are not hopeful of rejoining a coalition government with Labour, and party co-leader Shaw said, “We expect nothing.” Ardern herself has been tight-lipped about the possibility, and even hinted at going it alone, saying, “New Zealand has delivered us a mandate to be able to govern,” and, “What I’m looking for are areas of potential cooperation.”
The PM was congratulated for her resounding victory by United Kingdom PM Boris Johnson, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, and the Dalai Lama. Johnson said he looks forward to working with her on “climate change issues”; Trudeau said he will continue to work with her to “fight climate change, empower women and girls around the world, and ensure equitable vaccine distribution”; and the Dalai Lama lauded her “courage, wisdom, and leadership, as well as the calm, compassion, and respect for others she has shown in these challenging times”.
In her victory speech, Ardern remarked, “This has not been an ordinary election, and it’s not an ordinary time,” adding, “It’s been full of uncertainty and anxiety, and we set out to be an antidote to that.” She went on to say, “We are living in an increasingly polarized world, a place where, more and more, people have lost the ability to see one another’s point of view,” and posited that, “in this election, New Zealanders have shown that this is not who we are.”
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern Secures Re-Election Via Landslide Victory
The sheer margin of the Labour Party’s victory means that it may not have to form a coalition government, which would be unprecedented in New Zealand’s proportional representation system.
October 21, 2020
IMAGE SOURCE: MICHAEL BRADLEY / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGESNew Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern speaks at the Labour Party’s Election Day celebration