The minor parties have, after almost 30 years of coalitions in this country, learnt that to keep your head below the parapet means that you are not noticed and there’s a strong likelihood that you will fade into obscurity.
Few in this country will remember the Progressive Party, formed when the old Alliance Party fell apart. That happened because the Alliance organisational leadership, led by Matt McCarten, reckoned the party’s leader, Jim Anderton, was too cosy with his old Labour buddy Helen Clark and was willing to give her too many concessions on policy.
Anderton’s faction was kicked out of the Alliance and he formed the Progressive Party, which coalesced with Labour for six years from 2002 until Clark lost to National in 2008 and resigned on the night.
The same thing essentially happened when, during the first coalition Government, the then powerful New Zealand First with 17 seats, fell apart after Jenny Shipley knifed Jim Bolger in the back. The party’s so-called tight five had become looseheads and joined with Shipley which Winston Peters saw as a fate worse the death, and essentially it was, making it back at the next election only because Peters won his Tauranga seat.
So coalitions in the past have been fraught, and this one is no different.
New Zealand First and Winston Peters are now seen as, well if not rock solid, at least pumice solid. That’s thanks to Peters' mastery of the Foreign Affairs portfolio, and to Shane Jones' oratory.
Their ministerial colleague Casey Costello has come under intense fire but has survived in pretty good shape.
Then there’s Act which will be elevated once leader David Seymour assumes the seat alongside Christopher Luxon in the debating chamber next May as the country’s Deputy Prime Minister.
Winston Peters, Christopher Luxon and David Seymour after signing their coalition agreement. Photo / Mark Mitchell
No one could argue that Seymour’s not a successful political operator, entering Parliament after two unsuccessful attempts in 2014 as his party’s sole MP. He eschewed a ministerial post offered to him by John Key, essentially to concentrate on his end of life bill, which has now become law.
He was on his tod for six years until he was joined by nine others in 2020.
So like Peters, he’s adept at reading the public mood but unlike Peters, he seems unlikely to compromise his principles, no pun intended.
A year on, Peters and Luxon are getting along while the house is still on fire, although the flames are being dampened down. Maybe they are buddies because Peters spends most of his time out of the country.
Seymour on the other hand is in Luxon’s face, giving Peters much appreciated space.
Seymour’s obviously kinder on Luxon, as he has to be, even though he says the PM’s scared of tackling tough issues while the toughest issue, the Treaty Principles Bill, has been described by Luxon as simplistic.
With the focus this week being on the first year of this coalition, National’s been crowing endlessly about its achievements.
Seymour also put out Act’s list, citing its contributions so far with a list of almost 70 bullet points, covering all aspects of the economy, law and order, health, education and even democracy itself.
You could have been forgiven for thinking they’d done it alone.
Peters, who is on his third coalition, spoke like the grand old master, while at the same time seeming to compromise those who belong to it.
Some coalitions are more difficult than others, he said, and he would know. Then came the zinger, a number of the players in this coalition had no political experience of them, which he said, wasn’t a criticism, it was a fact.
Ouch!
But it’s true and maybe for that reason it’ll last. At least none of the three leaders are wilting violets, even if they beg to differ.
