V Is For Victory

It's been a considerably long time coming to this, but that merely makes the fact that we now know Labour is going to be in government for a third term just that much more deliciously sweet. As you will undoubtedly know, the final election results emerged today following the counting of the special votes, and they have produced a generally appealing picture, at least in my opinion. The Maori party picked up sufficient party votes in the specials to make amendments to the number of seats in Parliament, reducing the overhang to one seat only, meaning that the make-up of Parliament will now encompass one hundred and twenty-one MPs.

As a consequence, and greatly advantageously for the left, the National Party lost one seat today in relation to what it appeared to have achieved on election night. This essentially renders National in a state of helplessness. In recognition of the fact that it would be literally almost impossible for National to form a coalition government given the state that it is confirmed Parliament is going to be in, the Doctor has conceded defeat. He was certainly looking decidedly worse for wear in the television news coverage of him making the official declaration.

However, despite all this having gone on for so long there's still a way to go yet. Although Her Victorious Social Democratic Humbleness is undeniably in a pleasing position, now virtually destined to be the leader of the country for at least a decent while longer, the task of assembling the government is not going to be easy, and how long it's going to take could be anyone's guess. It's also bound to be exponentially interesting to see how she's going to work it all out. She's really got an eclectic tangle of ideology to arrange in her mighty hands that she's going to have to untangle in order to create a stable coalition.

Myself, I am picking -- and hoping -- that she will choose to establish a set-up that would put Jim Anderton (he's "so in" already anyway) and the Green Party in government, provided that she can arrange confidence-and-supply agreements with effective pawn parties New Zealand First and United Future. As I said though, I think it's likely that this is going to be a hard-to-predict process, and possibly a long-winded one as well. Let's just be thankful for the fact that it's not as nerve-wracking as the build-up to the election itself and the release of the final results (although I guess both of those experiences were pretty entertaining).

Unfortunately, not many a fight is without it's casualties, and the vibrancy of Parliament is going to be slightly dimmer for the next three years for the absence of the overly likeable Nandor Tanczos. The Greens did not pick up enough votes in the specials to return him to Parliament for this term. Not only a loss for the Green Party, this is a loss for the left in regards to its influence in the House, and indeed it's a loss for Parliament itself as he is one of the most colourful characters that has ever been present there. Probably best-known for his vehement advocacy for the decriminalisation of cannabis and the ways in which he sought to identify with the youth with the intent of encouraging them to become more active politically, he was, whether they acknowledge it or not, an invaluable voice in Parliament for this country. Dare I say it, we haven't heard the last of him.

Jah.