Four-party Government ahead: get used to it

Disenchanted voters are driving a possible change of government. Photo / NZ Electoral Commission Assiduous readers of this column may recall a stout defence of minority governments earlier this year.The argument rested on the fact that every MMP government elected between 1999 and 2017 delivered a stable minority government rather than a majority coalition.Only the first, in 1996, and the current government, elected in 2023, have been majority coalitions.As 2026 has progressed, the likelihood of a minority government emerging from the election has grown.It doesn't matter whether the Opportunity Party is a party of the right, left, ce...