Kiwi Conservatism? An American View of the NZ Election.

Jesse Walker | November 8, 2008, 2:39pm

At least one country is responding to the financial crisis by moving
to the right, not the left. New Zealand voters have just ousted the
longstanding Labour regime and elected a government led by the
conservative National Party; the free-market ACT party will be part of
the governing coalition. Which is not to say the new administration
will always pursue pro-market policies. The London Times reports that
Prime Minister-elect John Key, a wealthy former currency trader, is
"expected to implement tax cuts and extra spending." A Bushian/
Keynesian combination.

Go here to read the long list of comments:

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/129999.html

My friend Adam Wildavsky, who works in the New York office of Google,  
was tickled at how the Times explained the concept of "New Zealand" to  
its readers:

John Key's conservative National Party easily won power in New
Zealand, known internationally for its pristine environment and as the
backdrop to the "Lord of the Rings" movies.

Then Joel Kotkin asked me to write an essay on how I would explain  
Saturday's events to American readers. Here is what I wrote:

Why Did New Zealand Voters Swing to the Right? (see pdf file)