Episode description
It took 40 days and 40 nights - but at long last, the country knows what its new government will look like. New Zealand's first-ever three-way coalition: National, ACT and New Zealand First finally signing on the dotted line in the ultimate Black Friday deal. In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch examines the coalition deals and the personalities behind them.
"What we have achieved together, I think, is historic" - Christopher Luxon
It took 40 days and 40 nights - but at long last, the country knows what its new government will look like.
New Zealand's first-ever three-way coalition: National, ACT and New Zealand First finally signing on the dotted line in the ultimate Black Friday deal.
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The three leaders' style - each at their own podium in the Beehive's banquet hall - augurs an unpredictable term ahead. National's Christopher Luxon was corporate and aspirational, ACT's David Seymour earnest and exacting, with Peters fractious and mercurial.
Indeed, asked whether they trusted one another, each had a different response.
Luxon: "Absolutely".
Seymour: "I trust all ministers in our Cabinet, that's how Cabinet collective responsibility works and that's how I'll operate".
Peters: "We don't answer stupid questions. We've shaken hands here to be capable of earning trust. Please understand what real life looks like for adults. We've shaken hands on a commitment to make this government work because this country desperately needs it, make no bones about it."
Read more:
Chris Hipkins: 'This is going to be a government that drives people apart'
Analysis: Winston Peters now second most important person in the government
Cabinet lineup for new government unveiled - who gets what?
Timeline: Three-way coalition government comes together
Coalition details at a glance: What you need to know
The unique dynamic is acknowledged in the documents - with a detailed prescription for the working relationship.
Much interest also centred on the deputy-prime ministership, symbolic of the power tussle between ACT and New Zealand First through the election campaign - the impasse finally resolved with an unorthodox time-share arrangement: Peters for half the term, then Seymour for the rest.
It's either a creative solution or a childish sop - an easy target for mockery by the new government's opponents. …