New Zealand Conservatives Make Big Gains 

          With the victory of New Zealand’s center-right National Party earlier this week, conservatives have scored yet another major win in national elections worldwide.  Led by incumbent Prime Minister John Key, the conservatives posted their best showing in 60 years by garnering 48% of the vote.  On the other hand, ‘the biggest loser’ was the Labour Party, which lost significant ground, capturing only 27% of the vote.  This will be the second three year term as Prime Minister for the affable Key who has made improving relations with the United States one of his top priorities. 

Familiar Issues Dominated Election Campaigns 

          While New Zealand has not gone unscathed by the global economic crisis, the impact has been less severe than for some other players on the world stage.  How each of the major parties in New Zealand proposed to deal with this problem could not have been more disparate, mirroring the way conservatives and liberals in the United States are lining up ahead of the 2012 Presidential Elections.  In New Zealand the liberal Labour Party wanted to increase taxes, while the conservative National Party wanted to pay down debt and explore off shore oil drilling.  Sound familiar?  

Adding to Conservative Victories Around the Globe

          In what has been described as a large turnout and a landslide election, New Zealanders chose the practical policies of the National Party in a big way.  Their stunning victory marks yet another gain for conservatives around the globe.  It seems that the socialist gruel offered up by the liberal parties in Europe and elsewhere has been politely declined in favor of the time tested policies of the conservatives.  The recent conservative victories in Sweden and Spain attest to the strength of this movement and it looks like the United States may be positioning itself for the next big upset.