Voters in New Zealand have given an overwhelming rejection of the Labour Party’s liberal policies, overwhelmingly choosing the conservative National Party in Saturday’s elections.
This marks the first time in six years that Labour has not held a majority in the Parliament, losing out badly to the National Party, who earned around 40% of the vote. Labour, however, only managed to scrape together around 25% of the vote, a dramatic fall from its previous 50% share before the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, resigned suddenly.
This election was seen as a referendum on the government’s staunch COVID-19 lockdowns, vaccine mandates, high inflation, and high levels of crime on the island nation.
As a result the National Party was swept into power, led by Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon, a conservative former business executive. Several other right-wing parties, such as the libertarian ACT, also did well, receiving around 10% of the vote.
Comments from conservatives on their victory were likely reflective of the massive swing to the right, with experienced conservative polling expert David Farrar describing it as a “bloodbath” for the liberals. It was a similar view taken by the New York Times, which described Luxon’s incoming government as New Zealand’s “most conservative government in decades”.
Luxon has focused on getting the country out of its current doldrums, promising tax cuts and crime reduction to the middle-class earners in the country. His policies galvanized voters to a point it wasn’t seen before, sweeping him and his conservative coalition into power.
The only arrogant prick in New Zealand is Jacinda Ardern https://t.co/lxctIU4VJc
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) December 13, 2022
The election results show that Labour’s policies have been soundly rejected by the voters, who pushed them into the minority. Labour’s attempts to amend New Zealand with its liberal policies have been a crushing failure, with the incoming conservative coalition ready to undo the liberal government’s work. It’s a new day for New Zealand, and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the country.