Raf Manji is Top's best shot at winning a seat in Parliament. Photo / George Heard
The latest televised debate between the minor parties has once again highlighted the tensions between Act’s David Seymour and NZ First’s Winston Peters - so could National look at a different coalition partner?
During TVNZ 1′s debate last night, Seymour refused to say if he trusted Peters when asked, while Peters said it wasn’t up for him to say if he trusted Seymour or not.
NZ Herald political reporter Adam Pearse told On the Campaign, the Herald’s daily election podcast, that: “It doesn’t give you much hope that they are going to work very well together. Like many have observed, I can imagine that Christopher Luxon will be looking at this kind of stuff and thinking it’s going to be a tough time in government if they were to form a coalition.”
So should National consider looking for other coalition options?
That’s the hope of The Opportunities Party (Top) leader Raf Manji. Manji is betting on winning the seat of Ilam to get his party, founded by Gareth Morgan before the 2017 general election, into Parliament for the first time.
Earlier this week, Manji suggested National should stand down its candidate for the seat, Hamish Campbell, and clear the way for Top’s bid - something Luxon rejected.
Newstalk ZB Christchurch reporter Georgia O’Connor-Harding said there is definitely a strong awareness in the Ilam electorate of Manji’s campaign, and the potential benefits of having a unique voice representing them in Parliament.
Manji faces strong competition from Labour’s Sarah Pallett, the current sitting MP, and National’s Campbell; both MPs are ranked low on their party’s respective lists.
O’Connor-Harding said a desire for a national move away from supporting the main parties could work in Manji’s favour.
“He is talking about really advocating for Christchurch and making sure that there is that voice for Christchurch.
She said Manji had been targeting younger voters with his Teal Card, providing discounts to young Kiwis in the same way as the Gold Card, and has used his experience as a former president of the Student Volunteer Arm.
”He’s putting a huge chunk of energy into the students, and whether that will pay off, we’ll see on the day of the election.”
Listen to the full episode of On the Campaign for the full rundown of today’s big election stories.
On the Tiles is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available evenings every weekday.
