Mike Hosking: Already a mess - we are all in trouble

If last night was day one of the government - then we are all in trouble.

Winston Peters opens with a dissertation on how the world is coming to an end, and it won't be the new government's fault. Then he picks Labour, who didn't know, and in the line of the night Jacinda Ardern tells us, when she finally turns up, how she enjoyed the theatre of watching along with the rest of us who had won!

If that's not Stockholm syndrome I don't know what is.

Then the Greens had to actually sign the thing off. It looked a mess: no policy, no portfolios, no detail.

So from what we know, who wins? Well at four Cabinet posts and an under secretary, depending on what the portfolios are, that's a good result for NZ First.

Having to give that up is something Labour is going to need to explain, a party of nine with five spots in the executive is not proportional.

The Greens are the big losers. Yes they're in government, but only just.

Cabinet spots that aren't in Cabinet and a confidence deal. It's better than opposition, but they too have a lot of explaining to do to their supporters. Mind you given the Metiria Turei debacle, they might not have even been here at all, far less in government.

Labour, well government is government. So it's a win, but at what price?

On policy you can see why Peters picked them, from the economy, the Reserve Bank Act, immigration, housing, there is a lot in common there.

But three very different parties, with a lack of experience in a lot of areas, Jacinda Ardern takes a very big risk if she wants to forge a career as one of this country's more successful leaders.

Many would argue three years in opposition might have served her better than the three years of what a lot of good money would suggest is going to be a tumultuous ride.

And in that vein, you could well argue the Nats aren't really losers.

I hope Bill English doesn't quit. Mainly because he didn't lose, he just didn't get picked.

And that's the madness of MMP. A good strong opposition with the experience they've got, not to mention the numbers, has to be full of enough vim and vigor and hope to think this new Government is ropey, vulnerable and from an opposition's view: ripe for the picking.

Ultimately though, I think we all want the best for this country because we deserve it, and we have had a great run. Let's hope what happened last night doesn't derail it.