Whether talking sports or politics, 2016 saw one upset after another. From Leicester City winning the English Premier League through to the Cubs winning the World Series. Brexit and then Donald Trump beating Hillary Clinton. Any one of these things in a normal year and we'd be surprised but they all came at once, plus more. Make up your own list, it's been an exceptional year.
But in little old New Zealand while it may wish it, the type of electoral system the country now uses will almost certainly guarantee the same old tired faces stick around. New Zealand adopted German-style MMP in the mid 1990's. It was meant to build consensus government, where parties would form coalitions and work together. NZ was told it would be a stable form of government. Out with the old, where first past the post often led to the government receiving fewer popular votes than the combined opposition.
How has it panned out for little New Zealand? Minority governments are still not uncommon and it receives the worst of all worlds. Politicians who lose their seat now get back into Parliament off their party list. You can't get rid of them. This system may have been appropriate for Germany, where extreme left and right has held sway, but middle of the road New Zealand gets stuck with aged mediocrity that seem to be wedded to the job. Voters are left trusting the parties to refresh their party lists.
Then you have parties like the Greens who are professional naysayers and cannot win a seat. They get enough party votes to have representatives in Parliament, all coming in off the party list. They offer nothing constructive.
What New Zealand ends up with is indecision or weak-kneed legislation like the anti-smacking law. NZ was promised no parent who smacked their child would be criminalised, but that's exactly what has happened. It's outrageous.
With this loose limbed, liberal, middle ground seeking, never face issues head on approach, NZ still continues to slide. Renewal at the top isn't possible, and that's because of MMP.
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Description of MMP: http://www.elections.org.nz/voting-system/mmp-voting-system
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