By Gurbir Singh, Hamilton (New Zealand), Oct 19,2017
Labour Party's leader, Jacinda Arden is going to be New Zealand's next PM.
Weeks of stalemate and waiting for a government in New Zealand ended today when the NZ First party's Leader, Winston Party announced at 7.30pm(local time) his party's much-awaited decision to support the Labour party coalition.
Jacinda will be New Zealand's third female Prime Minister - after National's Jenny Shipley and Labour's, Helen Clark.
She will also be assuming the Prime Minister's office at the young age of 37, and just two-and-a- half months after becoming leader of her Labour Party.
The ruling National Party that was seeking a fourth successive term in Parliament, was ignored by the NZ First Party,and chose to support the centre-left rival, Labour Party.
Election of September 23 had left National with 56 seats, Labour with 46, NZ First on nine, the Green Party on eight and ACT with one seat.
As neither National or Labour party attained majority votes, it was left to the NZ First Party to negotiate and decide whom to support. They both required support from Peters’ New Zealand First (NZF) to pass the 61 seats needed for a win, giving it a decisive role in the election even though it only won seven per cent of the vote,and only 9 seats.
The Green party is expected to support Labour on confidence and supply, giving the combined parties, along with NZ First, 63 seats, two more than the 61 majority they need.
It is also the first time the party without the highest share of the vote would be forming the Government in New Zealand.
Though full details of the coalition are yet to be known, but it has been confirmed that four places in the cabinet will go to NZ First MPs while they will also have a parliamentary undersecretary.
Winston Peters has been offered the role of Dy.PM..
This is not the first time that Winston Peters had emerged as the 'king-maker' - this time,however, he turned out a 'queen-maker', helping Jacinda become PM.
Twice earlier also, he wielded the power to make the government. He opted for National in 1996 in return for being made Dy PM and in 2005, he supported Labour after it agreed to make him Foreign Minister.
Peters,however, did not complete his tenure, and was sacked as Dy PM in 1996 in a row over privatising state assets and stood down as Foreign Minister in 2008 amid an investigation into undeclared political donations.
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Gurbir Singh is a New Zealand-based freelance Feature Writer & Journalist.
He can be contacted at: gurbir@journalist.com, and you can like him on Facebook