Analysis: The party lines are drawn for the 2023 election, with National - definitively - ruling out working with Te Pāti Māori.
No more dancing around the question.
Leader Christopher Luxon said yesterday there was "a very wide gulf between our parties on important matters" and they couldn't work together in forming a government, should they both be in a position to do so after the election.
That means the options available to Labour are the Greens and Te Pāti Māori.
The options available to National are ACT and New Zealand First.
It’s nice and simple if Labour or National only need their BFF to get into government. A duo is doable.
Luxon had consistently said it was "highly unlikely" National would work with Te Pāti Māori to form a government. (Source: 1News)
Labour and Greens, National and ACT. The trouble starts brewing when a third party is brought in.
National has recycled its “coalition of chaos” line from a few elections ago.
It feels like that phrase could apply to any trio-lition (see what I did there).
The two sides have emerged because the Greens won’t work with National. ACT won’t work with Labour. New Zealand First won’t go with Labour and National won’t go with Te Pāti Māori.
The trouble is ACT said it won’t work with New Zealand First so National will be praying to the gods above that they won’t need Winston Peters post election. There’s a lot going on.
If TOP make it in they could go with either. On current polling they won’t.
Also on current polling, Peters and NZ First won’t be back. But you know what they say about the political phoenix - never rule him out.
Former Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples worked with National under John Key.
It was great hearing Turia's frank assessment on yesterday's development.
She said National may very well be ruling themselves out of government if they’re ruling out talking to Te Pāti Māori.
"The National Party in the past under John Key and Bill English were a lot more thoughtful about the way they wanted New Zealand to be."
Even though Luxon's statement ruling out Te Pāti Māori is not an earth shattering development, it firms things up in the race for 2023.
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