Parties and Society in New Zealand

Abstract

New Zealand's ideologically conservative National, union-rooted Labour, & smaller, protest-oriented Social Credit parties lost some of their former dominance between the 1960s & 1990s, as the voters increasingly demanded wider representation in parliament & more accountable government. The 1996 & 1999 elections were governed by a new mixed member proportional (MMP) electoral system, & the 1999 vote awarded seats to representatives from seven parties. Reasons for this party system de-alignment included a decline in the public's view of the parties' legitimacy & consequently their organizational strength. The older parties also lost media support, as readership of party newspapers declined along with the parties they supported. While the parties have retained their functionality, since the voters realize the impossibility of representative democracy with them, the future for the current parties will depend on their adaptation, along with that of the voters, to the MMP system, & many voters oppose this new electoral system. Tables, References. J. Stanton