[ad_1]
Conservative former businessman Christopher Luxon will be New Zealand’s next prime minister after scoring a decisive election victory on Saturday.
After six years of a Liberal government led by Jacinda Ardern, people voted for change.
The exact composition of Luxon’s government is still to be determined as ballot counting continues. Outgoing Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who spent just nine months in the top post after taking over from Ardern in January, told supporters late Saturday that he had asked Luxon to accept.
Hipkins said this was not the outcome he wanted.
“But I want you to be proud of what we’ve achieved over the last six years,” he told supporters at an event in Wellington.
Ardern unexpectedly stepped down as prime minister in January, saying she no longer had “sufficient capacity” to get the job done.
He won the last election by a landslide, but his popularity has waned as people grow tired of COVID-19 restrictions and inflation threatens the economy.
With his departure, 45-year-old Hipkins had to take over as leader. He previously served as education minister and led the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
With most of the votes counted, Luxon’s National Party had about 40 percent of the vote. Under New Zealand’s proportional voting system, Luxon, 53, was expected to form a coalition with the liberal ACT Party.
Meanwhile, the Labor Party, led by Hipkins, was getting just over 25 per cent of the vote – about half the proportion it got in the last election under Ardern.
And if the seat is lost the result would be particularly painful for Labor, given that National was in a tight race for Ardern’s old electoral seat, Mount Albert. The seat has long been a Labor stronghold and was also held by another former Labor Prime Minister, Helen Clark.
Melissa Lee, the National Party candidate for the seat, told The Associated Press she was feeling excited but also nervous about the final result in Mount Albert.
“This has been the Labor Party since 1946. It’s always been the biggest, safest Labor seat,” he said. “It would be fantastic if we won it.”
Lee said that when she was door-knocking, people told her they were tired of the current government and concerned about the state of the economy and the rising cost of living.
Longtime Conservative pollster David Farrar said there was still a good chance Labor would hold the seat after all the votes were counted. However, he said, his initial impression of voting across the country was that it was turning out to be a “bloodbath” for the left.
Luxon has promised tax cuts for middle-income earners and a crackdown on crime. Hipkins promised free dental care for people under 30 and removal of the sales tax on fruits and vegetables.
The government’s relationship with indigenous Maori is also at stake in the election. Luxon has promised to abolish the Māori Health Authority, which he says creates two separate health systems. Hipkins says he is proud of such co-governance efforts and accuses Luxon of ignoring racism.
Within days of taking power in January, Hipkins found himself dealing with deadly floods and then a cyclone crisis in New Zealand. He immediately rejected some of Ardern’s more controversial policies and promised a “back to basics” approach, focusing on tackling the rising cost of living.
The warm spring weather was energizing voters in the biggest city, Auckland, with queues forming outside some polling places. Early voting before Election Day was low compared to recent elections.
During the six-week election campaign, both Hipkins and Luxon traveled the country and introduced it to the cameras.
Earlier in the week, Luxon, who serves as chief executive of both Unilever Canada and Air New Zealand, told a cheering crowd in Wellington that he would crack down on gangs.
“I have to tell you, crime is out of control in this country,” Luxon said. “And we’re going to restore law and order, and we’re going to restore personal responsibility.”
Luxon was also cheered when he promised to fix the capital’s chaotic traffic with a new tunnel project.
According to political observers, Luxon is relatively new to politics, but during a televised debate he pitted his opinions against the more experienced Hipkins. But Luxon also made some mistakes, such as when he was asked in a 1News debate how much he spends on food each week.
His answer of “about sixty rupees” (US$36) was ridiculed on social media as being out of touch with the cost of living.
