Election 2023: Winston Peters gets back on the horse for election campaign video

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. Photo / Michael Cunningham

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has released a new cowboy-themed video on social media as part of the party’s election campaign efforts.

In the video, Peters mounts a horse as western-style music plays.

“To govern a country, you need experience and this is not our first rodeo,” he says, before riding off.

The video, posted on social media last night, comes after fellow New Zealand First MP Shane Jones also released his own similarly quirky social media content.

In one video, Jones sings a rendition of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing but switches the words to focus on his work with the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) and tree-planting.

Jones and NZ First are hoping to get back into Parliament by running a two-tick campaign in the Northland seat.

“I took the PGF and gave the funds to our people. I took a billion trees and planted everywhere,” he sang.

“Croatian Māori from Awanui. I’m back and making Northland great again.”

Peters – who entered Parliament in the 70s and has led NZ First for three decades – has had a long and turbulent time in politics, including being ejected from the National Party caucus by Prime Minister Jim Bolger after criticising his own Government’s economic, fiscal and foreign ownership policies.

Apart from an initial part-term as National MP for Hunua between 1979 and 1981, Peters spent eight terms as the MP for Tauranga, from July 1984 until he lost the seat, in September 2005.

He was a list MP until 2008, when New Zealand First failed to reach the 5 per cent MMP threshold, and he found himself out of Parliament after nine terms.

In 2017, Peters and NZ first found themselves in the position of election kingmaker. Peters went on to form a government with Labour, propelling Jacinda Ardern to Prime Minister while he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister.

“Our choice today relates to how best we mitigate, not worsen, the effects on New Zealanders,” Peters said when making his announcement.

“Our perception was that the majority of people in this country did want change. We have responded to that.

“In the end we chose a coalition government of New Zealand First and the New Zealand Labour Party.”

However, in the 2020 election, NZ First received just 2.7 per cent of the vote and did not get any MPs into Parliament.

Back for the 2023 election, the party has firmly ruled out forming a government with the Labour Party again, whether in Coalition or as a Confidence and Supply partner.

In the Herald’s August 17 Poll of Polls, NZ First was still below 5, polling 4.5 per cent. National was in the lead on 34.5 per cent, Labour following behind on 30.8 per cent.

Act was next on 11.9 per cent, followed by the Greens on 10.2 per cent. Te Pāti Māori is on 3.1 per cent and TOP on 2.4 per cent.

The Herald reported if the election were held the weekend of the August 17 Poll of Polls, there was an 80.5 per cent probability of a National-Act-NZ First government.