perseus
Active member
New Zealand opposition wins vote
New Zealand's opposition National Party has swept to power, ending PM Helen Clark's nine-year Labour government.
The centre-right opposition won 45% of the vote, against 34% for Labour, leaving it just short of an overall majority.
It will be able to govern with the help of two smaller parties - the United Future and ACT parties - and will also look for support to the Maori Party.
Since the country introduced proportional voting in 1996, neither of the big parties has won an outright majority and they have always relied on the support of minor parties.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7717014.stm
See what happens with a proportional representation system. No-one really has total power. Perhaps not a bad thing in this case (Sorry Monty)
New Zealand's opposition National Party has swept to power, ending PM Helen Clark's nine-year Labour government.
The centre-right opposition won 45% of the vote, against 34% for Labour, leaving it just short of an overall majority.
It will be able to govern with the help of two smaller parties - the United Future and ACT parties - and will also look for support to the Maori Party.
Since the country introduced proportional voting in 1996, neither of the big parties has won an outright majority and they have always relied on the support of minor parties.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7717014.stm
See what happens with a proportional representation system. No-one really has total power. Perhaps not a bad thing in this case (Sorry Monty)