Hopefully by early next week, it will be known which political party will govern Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) for the next three years as Kiwis cast their votes on Saturday, Oct. 17. With a parliamentary form of government, NZ does not directly elect the Prime Minister. Rather, the party that gains most of the seats in the 120-member chamber sets the direction of the country. Under the mixed-member proportional representation voting system, no party has governed alone, with either the major parties requiring a coalition with minor ones.
In the last election, the center-of-right National Party (56) won more seats than the center-of-left Labor Party (46), but it failed to convince minor parties to their side. Thus, Labor was able to form a government with the support of New Zealand First (9) and Green Party (8), totaling 63 seats. Labor’s last-minute leader Jacinda Ardern was cast into the limelight with a lot of promise, but whose leadership and experience were unproven.
Three major incidents tested Ardern’s leadership, namely, the mass shootings at mosques in a terrorist attack in Christchurch on March 15, 2019 where 51 people died; the White Island volcano eruption on Dec. 9, 2019 with 21 people killed; and the Covid-19 global pandemic that caused 25 deaths. Ardern proved to be effective in dealing with each incident, being on top of the situation; effectively communicating with the public; and maintaining both strength and calmness amidst the storms.
The opposition, National Party, made drastic changes in their organization as surveys showed Ardern’s rating as preferred leader remained high. Veteran politician Judith Collins, a lawyer, is the current National Party leader. She is aggressive in her criticisms of Ardern and the latter’s policies and is wooing Christian voters. Due to the pandemic, the passage by the Labor-led NZ Parliament of one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world did not figure so much public discussion or media coverage.
But from the looks of it, Ardern will lead her party to victory and there are even hints that Labor will not even require coalition partners. In her campaign sorties, Ardern draws people who want to take selfies with her. Even my five-year old apo Kayla told me that if she could vote, she would go for Ardern.
The next three years will be a challenge to any leader. Surely, Covid-19 will no longer threaten humanity. So, reviving the economy must be confronted head-on. The choice of whom to vote ought to be which party can provide a viable roadmap to tackle unemployment and help out businesses damaged by the pandemic, among others. Actually, it is just another day for Kiwis on election day, so unlike the messy and complicated US presidential election on Nov. 3.