By Rebecca Howard
WELLINGTON, New Zealand--New Zealand's prime minister has vowed
to build a coalition rather than govern alone, after his ruling
National Party won a resounding victory in Saturday's election.
John Key is set to lead New Zealand for a third consecutive term
after official results showed his party garnered 48% of the
national vote, and would likely end up with 61 seats in a
121-member Parliament.
A parliamentary majority is unprecedented under the current
voting system-implemented in 1996. While the National Party may be
able to govern alone with those numbers, Mr. Key said he stood
ready to work with like-minded parties.
"In the coming days, I will talk to the leaders of political
parties with a view to putting together a broader majority and to
ensure a durable and strong government," the former investment
banker told Radio New Zealand. "It's a marvelous result that
National may technically be able to govern alone, but it's a
dangerous position for governments that let it go to their
head."
David Cunliffe, leader of the main opposition Labour Party,
conceded defeat late Saturday. The Labour Party picked up 25% of
the overall vote, according to the Electoral Commission, while the
Green Party, always thought to be its likeliest coalition partner,
won 10%.
"New Zealanders have chosen to continue and we respect that
choice," Mr. Cunliffe told supporters late Saturday night. "Our
opponents have built a formidable electoral machine."
The 53-year-old Mr. Key has helped steer New Zealand to a level
of prosperity rarely found in developed countries since the global
financial crisis, campaigning against a backdrop of the strongest
economic growth in a decade.
The extent of National's victory was a complete surprise, said
Bryce Edwards, a political scientist at the University of Otago. In
the end, however, he said "all of the scandals, all of the colorful
and bizarre campaign antics, were not what was important. The
economy was the main election issue."
The engine of its growth has been the nation's dairy industry,
which is feeding large parts of Asia, and a construction boom
fueled by rebuilding after a series of earthquakes in 2010 and
2011. But the incoming government will face new challenges, with
growth projected to fall sharply over the coming years as the
rebuilding of Christchurch wraps up, prices for New Zealand's main
commodity exports fall, and monetary conditions tighten.
Mr. Key has promised business as usual and has said his
government would balance the books this year after six years of
deficits. "Three more years. This is a victory for those who kept
the faith and refused to be distracted," Mr. Key told supporters on
Saturday night. Steven Joyce, the National party's campaign
manager, said on Sunday: "We are not going to see radical shifts in
policy."
Markets are likely to be cheered by Mr. Key's win when they open
Monday. "It was a great victory for stability in New Zealand, and
markets like stability," said Auckland-based ASB's head of FX
institutional sales, Tim Kelleher. And Grant Williamson, a
Christchurch-based broker for Hamilton Hindin Green, said: "The
market is just going to love that result. It couldn't have been
better. It removes all uncertainty."
Mr. Key's victory was stronger than opinion polls were
predicting. Meanwhile, Labour's weak showing was the worst since
the 1920s, prompting speculation of a possible change in
leadership, though Mr. Cunliffe said he had no plans to resign. "I
don't believe that rotating the leaders is the key to changing and
upgrading our party," he said Sunday in a television interview. "If
I did, I would simply stand down now."
The University of Otago's Mr. Edwards said it would be difficult
for Mr. Cunliffe to reassert his authority after Labour's poor
result, but added that the party still had no obvious
replacement.
The Green party's support was little changed from 2011, despite
opinion polls predicting it could win as much as 14% of the vote.
Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said Sunday the party had
consolidated its 2011 result and held on to its 10% support even
though the country had swung to the right.
The country of 4.5 million people has a multiparty system that
allows voters to choose both the party they want in government and
the candidate for their local electorate. Governments under New
Zealand's proportional-representation system, similar to Germany's,
have always been coalitions.
It is unprecedented for any single party under the current
electoral system to secure a majority of seats in Parliament, as
Mr. Key's party appears to have done from votes counted Saturday.
Still, there remain certain special votes to be counted by Oct. 4,
though those wouldn't alter the party's overall result.
"There's always a chance you lose one (seat) with the specials,"
said the National party's Mr. Joyce. "We don't know that yet. The
prime minister will want to have relationships with the three
support partners we have had and those conversations will take
place pretty quickly."
In the current government, National ruled with the support of
the ACT, United Future and Maori Party. All three won enough votes
to hold seats in next Parliament. The scale of the win rules out
the need for Mr. Key to do a deal with New Zealand First, an
anti-immigration party that in opinion polls had at times looked
likely to become kingmaker.
In government, Mr. Key fought off stiff opposition to the
partial privatization of various state-owned assets, and, during
the election campaign itself, allegations that his party covertly
used a right-wing blog to smear opponents-accusations that cost the
country's justice minister her job.
Mr. Key's support also held steady amid allegations by ex-U.S.
intelligence employee Edward Snowden that the government had
engaged in mass surveillance of its citizens, a charge the prime
minister strongly denied. Internet Mana, a party funded by Internet
entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, failed to win any seats.
"People could see the country was headed in the right direction
and they rewarded us," Mr. Key said Saturday night in a TV
interview.
Write to Rebecca Howard at rebecca.howard@wsj.com