A Government Strengthened Faces Another Challenge

On Saturday, voters in two New Zealand electorates- Whanganui and Northland- went to the polls to vote in by-elections. Initially, the official opposition viewed both seats as winnable- sources inside the Green Party tell us the two co-leaders were sure that with hard work, they could win both seats and cut the government’s majority down to 1 seat. However, as the race progressed, a strong campaign from /u/silicon_based_life of The Opportunities Party in Whanganui meant that it was essentially no longer in play, but that Northland was considered still winnable by the Labour candidate, WillShakespeare99. Indeed, the majority of results that night showed WillShakespeare99 in the lead. A win here would have been a blow to the government, and the Liberal Party looked set to lose many votes anyway. However, Kingethan15 of the Liberals pulled out narrowly and began taking a lead. What’s interesting to note, however, is the effect of the TOP party- winning in excess of 20% in both electorates. Had the official opposition had TOP’s votes in both electorates, they would have won. But a resignation by Cenarchos, MP for Waikato, means that the government faces another challenge. Although it does have a large margin in favour of the National Party, the party’s leader and figurehead, Ninjjadragon, recently resigned. This could cause trouble for the National Party, and perhaps see a return to its pre-Ninjja days- a string of changing leaders and falling polls. This could be an upset for the official opposition. If it is? The government’s in trouble.