Coalition conundrum

摘要

BILL ENGLISH, New Zealand's prime minister, looked every inch the victor after the election on September 23rd. "We got better and better," he crowed as the count rolled in. "No one expected that just three weeks ago." His centre-right National party won 46% of the vote, putting it ten percentage points ahead of its main rival, Labour, with which some polls had suggested it was neck-and-neck. The result was remarkable not only because Mr English fended off Labour's telegenic new leader, Jacinda Ardern. It is also striking because, after almost a decade in power and despite a change in leadership, the Nationals seem as strong as ever.