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MMP law change needed.

It just strikes me today that we need a law change regarding MMP. It needs to be changed so that the party that gets the most votes during an election is the only party that is allowed to form a government. Isn't that only right? If the country has given one party more votes than any of the rest then that party HAS to be part of the government.

The smaller parties may not like it - maybe there will be some clashes of ideology but isn't that the way it was supposed to work under MMP? That's what public voted for with MMP -- the ability to vote for a party that they liked (not necessarily one of the big parties) and that party would get in and help keep the big parties honest; not do deals with them.



Comments

  1. I really don't see how this would be workable, imagine an scenario in which the party votes went something like

    Act 8 (imagine really hard...)
    Nat 37
    Lab 40
    Gr 4
    NZF 4

    with the fundamentalists parties getting the last couple of percent. Now, working off the back on envelope that would give us a paliament that looked lie this:

    Lab 56
    Nat 51
    Act 13

    Would you legally force National and Labour to form a grand coalition? Call a new election? Surely people would feel they had voted for a right leaning government and forcing a labour led on them would be undemocratic?

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  2. Fletch, I don't think I agree with making it law that the party with the largest number of votes has to form the government. As David points out, it could have unintended consequences. I'd rather get rid of MMP than try to force it into a particular mould.

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  3. I would rather get rid of it altogether as well

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  4. Isn't that only right?

    No, it isn't. 3 left-wing parties on 20% each and a right-wing party on 40% means we should have a right-wing govt? No, not really. MMP is about representation that matches what people voted for - how that representation is turned into a govt is up to the representatives.

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  5. PM - I don't think ACT got 40% in that scenario, and wasn't it 4 left wing parties...?

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  6. That was my own scenario, Zen. The point is, being the party with the most votes counts for nothing unless those votes come to more than 50%. Less than that, and you're looking for coalition partners same as everyone else.

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  7. Look at Canada in their FPP system. There is an election every 1-2 years. It costs the taxpayers plenty to fund these elections and the minorities can call a vote of no confidence and an election is normally held. At least with MMP the ruling govt has over 50%. It is better for the people of NZ and yes it sometimes has the Winston's and others holding everything up after an election... Answer to that is to vote in Simon Bridges in Tauranga and give ACT your party vote.

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