Labour voters to Helen: Go Green
Victoria University political scientists Nigel Roberts and Stephen Levine have an interesting write-up in the Sunday Star-Times today of research they did into voter intentions just before the election. One very relevant finding for the post-election negotiations is that Labour voters overwhelmingly want their party to form a coalition with the Greens:
One important set of findings, at a time when Helen Clark is working to stitch together a stable minority government, is on voters’ coalition preferences.
The survey found 63% of those who voted Labour want the party to form a coalition with the Greens, a partnership Clark encouraged by campaigning with Jeanette Fitzsimons at the outset of the campaign. By contrast, 16% of Labour voters want to see Labour in coalition with United Future Peter Dunne passed up the opportunity to campaign with Clark and 12% said they would welcome the Maori Party as a coalition partner.
Voters were also clear about which parties they didn’t want to see in a Labour-led government. New Zealand First leads the pack 39% of Labour voters identify Winston Peters’ party as the least palatable coalition option.
September 25th, 2005 at 6:49 pm
But the voters don’t decide. The minor parties Helen needs will decide.
September 26th, 2005 at 1:23 pm
Could’ve sworn that as Leader of the party forming coalitions, Helen got to decide with whom, and under what conditions, she would form a coalition.
But then I’m not a Labour party member, so I don’t know all their standing rules. Oh, yeah, David Farrar isn’t a labour member either.