Decisive win for John Key in New Zealand election
“This is a great night. This is a victory for those who kept the faith,” Key told a cheering crowd in Auckland.
“This is a victory for those who refused to be distracted and who knew that a vote for National was a vote for a brighter future for all New Zealanders.”
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Hide AdKey, 53, who has a background in finance and banking in New York, gave credit to deputy prime minister Bill English, whom he described as “the best finance minister in the developed world”.
Key’s National Party ended election night with 48 per cent of the vote, although a small number of votes remained to be counted.
It was a disastrous night for the National Party’s closest rival, the Labour Party, which won just 25 per cent.
“The truth is, the party vote has returned a National government, and over the coming days and weeks we will need to reflect upon why,” Labour Party leader David Cunliffe said in his concession speech.
He said that he called Key to congratulate him on his victory.
“It is rare for any government to be defeated while surfing an economic rebound with around a 4 per cent growth rate, even though the longer-term problems remain to be addressed,” Cunliffe said.
Cunliffe did not state his future plans but many expect him to resign as Labour leader in the coming months, following the defeat.
The election result showed a swing to conservative parties, with the liberal Labour and Green parties losing ground.
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Hide AdUnder New Zealand’s proportional voting system, parties typically must form coalitions to govern for the three-year terms.
If the results hold, however, it would mean the National Party could govern outright – something that has not happened for any party since the proportional system was introduced in 1996.
But during his victory speech, Key said that his party still intended to form a coalition with other smaller parties, to gain a broader majority and form a stronger government.
Still, the numbers would mean the National Party could pass legislation that does not have the support of any other parties.
In the last election three years ago, the National Party won 47 per cent of the vote.
Supporters praise how the party has managed New Zealand’s economy, which has been growing at a 4 per cent clip, with unemployment dropping to 5.6 per cent.
The government projects it will begin running budget surpluses this financial year, following years of deficits.
Cunliffe had pledged to build tens of thousands of inexpensive homes for first-time buyers to combat a pricey housing market, as well as to raise the minimum wage.
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Hide AdThe campaign was marked by a scandal after investigative journalist and liberal activist Nicky Hager published Dirty Politics, a book that exposed the extent of the National Party’s links with a conservative blogger.
Justice minister Judith Collins resigned from her ministerial portfolios after Key said she colluded with the blogger to try to undermine the director of the Serious Fraud Office, whom Collins oversaw.
Meanwhile, a party funded by indicted internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom failed to win a parliamentary seat, despite Dotcom pouring more than $NZ3 million (£1.5m) into the campaign.
The Internet Mana Party had polled strongly initially, but support appeared to evaporate in the lead-up to the election.
“I take full responsibility for this loss tonight, because the brand Kim Dotcom was poison for what we were trying to achieve,” Dotcom said in his concession speech. “And I did not see that before, and it only became apparent to me in the last couple of weeks.”
Dotcom is fighting attempts by United States prosecutors to extradite him on racketeering charges over his website Megaupload, now shut down, which prosecutors say was used to download enormous numbers of songs and movies illegally.
Dotcom says he cannot be held responsible for those who chose to use his site for illegal downloads.
German-born Dotcom was not a candidate himself because he is not a New Zealand citizen and therefore not eligible to run.
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Hide AdShould the election night results hold, the National Party would win 61 of parliament’s 121 seats. The Labour Party would win 32, the Green Party 13 and the New Zealand First Party 11.
Three other small parties would win the remaining four seats.
The Conservative Party won 4 per cent of the vote but failed to win a seat. That is because it did not win a single electorate outright or meet the required threshold of 5 per cent of the total party vote.