Left Turn: The New Zealand General Election of 1999

by Jonathan Boston (Editor), Stephen Church (Editor), Stephen I. Levine (Editor)

New Zealanders ended the twentieth-century by electing a Labour-Alliance government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark. The 1999 election was the second under the country's proportional representation system, MMP, and was held after three years of colourful and controversial politics that left many disenchanted. This book looks at the campaign, how people voted and why, and the formation of the minority centre-left coalition. It highlights the key election issues and the leadership contest between Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark, as well as the referenda on the size of Parliament and on the justice system. Based on the post-election conference held at Victoria University, this book includes contributions from the country's leading journalists and political scientists, as well as representatives from all the parties which won seats in Parliament.

312 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Shane Wallis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a really interesting collection of reflection on the 1999 election. With the general public in mind it is written in a way which is clear and easily accessible. The range of both topics covered and contributors was also quite positive with party representatives, journalists and academics contributing. Given my interest in politics did not exist back then, I found it quite fascinating to read reflections on how party representatives believed their respective parties had done. Being a Green party supporter, the retelling of how the Green party overcame odds to get into parliament for the first time held particular interest to me. But explorations of the role media played, i.e newspaper editorials, and comparisons between the formation of government between 1999 and 1996 were also quite. Given that we have had six general elections since then, it was also quite interesting to read their thoughts on where they believed MMP could go in the future. Given it's size limitations, it can not go into depth on issues. However I found it to be a nice fun read. One which exceeded my expectations, even as a political junkie.