What Does John Key’s Resignation Mean for New Zealand Politics?

What Does John Key’s Resignation Mean for New Zealand Politics?
Then-Finance Minister Bill English, right, with then-Prime Minister John Key, left, Wellington, New Zealand, May 21, 2015 (AP photo by Mark Mitchell).

Bill English was chosen on Dec. 12 to be New Zealand’s new prime minister after John Key, who had led the National Party to three election victories since 2008, surprised the country by stepping down. In an email interview, Jon Johansson, a senior lecturer at Victoria University, discusses New Zealand politics.

WPR: What have been John Key’s major domestic and foreign policy accomplishments, and where has his record been less successful?

Jon Johansson: Key’s major domestic legacy achievements include his crisis leadership following the Christchurch earthquakes in 2010 and 2011; his government’s progress in advancing historical Treaty of Waitangi claims with affected Maori tribes, and improved relations with Maori more generally; sound economic management that restored the budget surplus eight years after the global financial crisis; and his personal popularity and political success.

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