28 votes

Jacinda Ardern leads New Zealand Labour Party to historically high re-election, projected to win 49% of votes and 64/120 seats

8 comments

  1. [3]
    unknown user
    (edited )
    Link
    New Zealand has an MMP system, where votes are distributed amongst 120 parliament seats—72 seats come from electorates (regions), and 48 are distributed from the overall party vote. Together, with...

    New Zealand has an MMP system, where votes are distributed amongst 120 parliament seats—72 seats come from electorates (regions), and 48 are distributed from the overall party vote. Together, with the 7.5% of Greens vote, the left-wing bloc now constitutes 74 seats in parliament—a landslide, and a historic high that has not been seen since 1946. The results of our referenda around cannabis and euthanasia won't be known until the end of October.

    This is a great win for New Zealand, and a refutation of the claim that you need to run a negative campaign to win an election—Jacinda's relentlessly positive attitude and adept handling of COVID-19 demonstrates that a combination of good policy and good personality is all you need.

    13 votes
    1. [2]
      MonkeyPants
      Link Parent
      Who said this? National initially supported Jacinda, but then they imploded in popularity. Didn't this teach National the only way they can win is through negative politics?

      This is a great win for New Zealand, and a refutation of the claim that you need to run a negative campaign to win an election

      Who said this?

      National initially supported Jacinda, but then they imploded in popularity.

      Didn't this teach National the only way they can win is through negative politics?

      3 votes
      1. p4t44
        Link Parent
        Also, the libertarian ACT Party made big gains after running a campaign against the governments COVID response. Especially compared to other countries, New Zealand's politics have never been very...

        Also, the libertarian ACT Party made big gains after running a campaign against the governments COVID response.

        Especially compared to other countries, New Zealand's politics have never been very 'negative'. Most campaigns by most parties have been civil, the only factor this year is the very popular COVID response propelled Labour to a massive victory.

        4 votes
  2. [5]
    MonkeyPants
    Link
    Here are the actual results It was indeed a landslide. This is the first time, since a proportional system was voted on, that one party won a clear majority. This is a big deal. Last election, the...

    Here are the actual results

    It was indeed a landslide.

    This is the first time, since a proportional system was voted on, that one party won a clear majority.

    This is a big deal. Last election, the conservative party (by New Zealand standards) won the most votes, but Jacinda became prime minister after a highly divisive figure decided to switch allegiance with Jacinda's Labor party. It's a little bit like the tail wagging the dog, as the alliance is decided after the election.

    This time, Jacinda's party won a clear majority of seats.

    The New Zealand parliamentary system counts the number of seats, you typically need 61 seats out of 120. Jacinda's party has 64.

    Plus the 10 seats for the greens gives Jacinda's Labor Party 74 out of 120 seats. A vote for the greens party is seen as a vote for Jacinda's party, as green is never going to align with a conservative party.

    If you are doing the math, and wondering why the seats aren't entirely proportionate, votes for parties under a 5% threshold get allocated to the other parties, which mostly explains the discrepancy between the popular vote and the actual number of seats.

    12 votes
    1. [4]
      frailtomato
      Link Parent
      I'm glad Labour won, as long as the Greens have some input/influence. I do find the cult of personality around Jacinda Ardern a bit gross, and I say this as an admirer of hers. I live in Australia...

      I'm glad Labour won, as long as the Greens have some input/influence. I do find the cult of personality around Jacinda Ardern a bit gross, and I say this as an admirer of hers. I live in Australia and it's common for people here to idolise her. I'm not sure the same is true in NZ, where Labour has largely failed to deliver on campaign promises, but responded well to crises.

      Edit: the reason I mentioned the cult of personality is because you keep calling her Jacinda but probably aren't in NZ (based on your spelling of the part name) - first names for public figures generally suggests a familiarity that comes with a feeling beyond admiration but not necessarily idolising. I'm probably projecting :-)

      5 votes
      1. [2]
        heady
        Link Parent
        This is far from being universally true as you should know, Scotty from Marketing is hardly a term of endearment.

        first names for public figures generally suggests a familiarity that comes with a feeling beyond admiration but not necessarily idolising

        This is far from being universally true as you should know, Scotty from Marketing is hardly a term of endearment.

        3 votes
        1. frailtomato
          Link Parent
          I think that's pretty different though - calling the Prime Minister a nickname based on fairly derided profession is very different. Try calling him Scott in a sentence and see how it sounds. Like...

          I think that's pretty different though - calling the Prime Minister a nickname based on fairly derided profession is very different. Try calling him Scott in a sentence and see how it sounds. Like I said, I'm probably projecting - despite that I don't think they're the same.

          1 vote
      2. novov
        Link Parent
        It's not as common as overseas, but it's still a thing. Agree with you about the Greens - I voted for them.

        I'm not sure the same is true in NZ, where Labour has largely failed to deliver on campaign promises, but responded well to crises.

        It's not as common as overseas, but it's still a thing. Agree with you about the Greens - I voted for them.

        2 votes