New Zealand elects conservative Christopher Luxon as its new prime minister

2023-11-27 06:17:53

The conservative Christopher Luxonalong with the ministers who will make up his cabinet, He was sworn in this Monday as Prime Minister of New Zealand and affirmed that his Government’s main priority is to fix the country’s battered economy, hit hard after covid-19 and high inflation.

Luxon, 53 years old and leader of the National Party, He won the elections last October and will manage to govern thanks to a triple alliance reached with the nationalist New Zealand First Party and the liberal right-wing Consumers and Taxpayers Association (ACT).

In a ceremony today at Government House in Wellington, New Zealand Governor-General Cindy Kiro, who represents the British monarch, Charles III, as head of state, swore in, in addition to Luxon, the 20 members of the new cabinetincluding ACT leader David Seymour and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.

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The now new prime minister noted that it is an “honor, privilege and enormous responsibility” to hold the position and, in statements to local media after the ceremony, he highlighted that His priority will be to fix the economy, battered by high levels of inflation.

He also reaffirmed that his Government will seek to “restore law and order”in line with last week’s announcement that the coalition had reached a deal to “rewrite the Gun Law” following gun control reform provisions introduced in 2020 in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch supremacist attack.

Wellington Parliament reopened its doors on Monday after a three-day recess and is expected to meet as early as next week to debate and work on new policies.

The incoming government’s coalition agreements, published on Friday, outline a series of political plans that include, among other measures, a single mandate for the country’s Central Bank, a plan to roll back the use of the Maori language and lifting the ban on oil and gas exploration, measures that have caused rejection by part of the population.

The victory of the National Party in the elections ended six years of Government of the Labor Party and This will be the first time in New Zealand history that three parties form a coalitionwhich means that everyone will have representatives within the new cabinet.