Clark Announces Center-Left Minority Government

Sunday, 28 July 2002, 1:05 am
Article: Alastair Thompson

With the support of the Greens, and a concession from National’s Bill English, Prime Minister Helen Clark has announced her intention to form a new minority Government with Jim Anderton’s Progressive Coalition.

The final seat count has not altered since the last Scoop Progress report with Labour on 52 seats, the Progressive Coalition on 2 and the Greens on 8. Between them the parties of the left have 62 seats a clear majority in the 120 seat Parliament.

The Prime Minister was late to emerge from her Mt Albert house, and when she finally appeared at around 11.30pm she announced that she had received a commitment of support to form a new government from the Green Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons.

Asked by ACT MP Rodney Hide whether she considered her new government to be a minority government supported by the Greens, or a minority government supported by the Greens and United Future the Prime Minister replied that she expected to be supported by a range of different parties.

Her comments appear to signal that she intends in coming days to come to agreements on support with both the Green Party and the United Future Party.

The Prime Minister reserved her criticisms in her closing address for the New Zealand First Party whom she described as seeking to divide New Zealander against New Zealander.

© Scoop Media

Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

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