New Zealand held in suspense as kingmaker weighs coalition options
New Zealanders will likely need to wait several more days to find out who will form the new government in the South Pacific island nation, the small nationalist party holding the balance of power said on Thursday.
کد خبر: ۷۳۷۸۱۸
تاریخ انتشار: ۲۰ مهر ۱۳۹۶ - ۱۰:۰۰ 12 October 2017
کد خبر: ۷۳۷۸۱۸
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۲۰ مهر ۱۳۹۶ - ۱۰:۰۰ 12 October 2017
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1671 بازدید
1671 بازدید
New Zealanders will likely need to wait several
more days to find out who will form the new government in the South
Pacific island nation, the small nationalist party holding the balance
of power said on Thursday.
The
New Zealand First Party was holding a fifth day of talks with both the
ruling National and the opposition Labour Party to form a coalition
government, almost three weeks after an inconclusive general election.
Prime
Minister Bill English’s ruling National Party won 56 seats in the Sept.
23 election, while a Labour-Green bloc have 54 seats, leaving both
needing New Zealand First’s nine seats to meet the 61 seats needed for a
majority in parliament.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters
said that he was "pretty confident” that those talks with the main
parties would conclude on Thursday evening, but said the NZ First board
would not meet to discuss its options until the weekend at the earliest.
"It depends upon the logistical availability of the board which will be Saturday, Sunday or Monday,” Peters told reporters.
When asked which party he was leaning towards, Peters told reporters later in the day that he had a "totally open mind.”
"I
can honestly tell you I wouldn’t take a guess of what anyone is
currently thinking,” Peters said at Parliament, referring to his party’s
caucus and board members.
The political limbo
has pushed the New Zealand dollar, the world’s 11th most traded
currency, down by around 3.3 percent since the vote. The Kiwi was
trading at $0.7103 mid-afternoon on Thursday after hitting a four-month
low earlier this week.
Two recent independent
surveys have suggested the uncertainty is curbing business sentiment,
although official data released on Thursday indicated that consumer
confidence remained robust.
There are also
concerns that a government including the nationalist NZ First would lead
to more interventionist economic policies. Peters fueled those fears
earlier this week when he said that exporters should welcome the recent
fall in the local currency.
NZ First also wants to restrict foreign investment, curb immigration and renegotiate certain trade deals.
Strong
immigration has been blamed for the country’s hot housing market and
unaffordable prices, with industry data showing the number of properties
sold in September was the lowest for that month for six years.
Peters lost his own seat in the election, but remains eligible for a ministerial post as leader of NZ First.
He said talks so far had focused on policy, with no discussions yet on ministerial portfolios or offices.
