Third National Government of New Zealand - Defeat

Defeat

With a majority of only one, National's hold on power was always precarious. Its situation was made more difficult by the presence of several 'rogue MPs', including Marilyn Waring and Mike Minogue, who were openly dissatisfied with Muldoon and with the government's performance. For Muldoon, the final straw came when Waring announced she would support the Labour opposition's nuclear-free bill. On the night of 14 July 1984, Muldoon announced a snap election. In television footage of his announcement, he appears to be very drunk; however it is possible that his slurring may have had a partially or completely medical explanation.

By this time, the government was deeply unpopular for a range of reasons including Muldoon's antagonistic style, the huge range of economic controls put in place by the government, its reluctance to reflect the increasingly liberal social mood of the electorate, and the simple fact that it had been in power for nine years. National's position was made worse with the formation of the New Zealand Party, led by maverick property developer Bob Jones. The party supported free markets and a general dramatic reduction of government interference in economic and social life; National's founding principles. The New Zealand Party thus took many votes from former National voters who disliked the government but did not want to vote for Labour. Labour was helped by the contrast between the older and bad-tempered Muldoon and the young, witty David Lange.

National lost ten seats, while the New Zealand Party won 12.2% of the vote but no seats. Social Credit's share of seats remained unchanged at two. The Labour Party became the Fourth Labour government with 56 seats and a comfortable majority of 17.