Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says a National MP will be Finance Minister in the next government, but ACT leader David Seymour says “everything’s negotiable, Christopher”.
National, ACT and NZ First are on track to secure 67 of Parliament’s 131 seats, giving them a one-seat majority. However, National’s 29% party vote means it will not have any list MPs, leaving current Finance Minister Nicola Willis set to exit Parliament.
The result prompted Seymour to challenge National’s claim to the Finance portfolio, arguing that the party’s demand was “no longer tenable”. It is not a National government with two inconvenient bolt-ons; it is now a coalition,” he said.
Seymour said the caretaker Finance Minister should be one of the remaining associate finance ministers, which included himself and NZ First Deputy Leader Shane Jones. Jones would not say who should get the role, but warned Luxon not to “overplay his hand as to how powerful this position actually is”.
Former National MP Maurice Williamson credited RCR’s Vote Smart 2026 campaign with contributing to split voting. He said National’s candidates received about 286,000 more votes than its party – a substantially wider gap than in 2023, consistent with the strategy Vote Smart promoted. Asked whether RCR’s grassroots campaign had contributed, he said: “It has to be. It has to be”.
Meanwhile, Luxon said National had “a pathway to government” without needing Opportunity, but he would still call its leader Qiulae Wong “shortly”. Seymour said governing on a one-seat majority would not be “ideal,” but might be necessary if Opportunity asked for too much.
Wong said all five of her bottom lines had to be met for Opportunity to join a coalition or sign a looser confidence and supply deal. She also ruled out letting NZ First Leader Winston Peters take the Foreign Minister portfolio again.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said there was “one seat in it,” but only if Opportunity joined Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party. He had already called Wong to discuss the chances of an alliance.
Labour’s rules require a leadership vote within three months of an election, but Hipkins said there would be none at the caucus meeting on Tuesday because “the election is not over yet”. Asked if former Labour minister Michael Wood would make a good leader, Hipkins said it was “a ridiculous question” and “there’s no vacancy”. Wood refused to answer the same question on radio.
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