The Front Page: What motivates Winston Peters to keep making political comebacks?

NZ First leader Winston Peters has been a fixture of New Zealand politics for more than 30 years and again holds the balance of power in determining the next government.

As the country awaits the final vote tally, it is widely expected the traditionally left-leaning special votes will have National and Act require the support of Peters to form a majority government.

NZ Herald senior political correspondent Audrey Young has known Peters for more than three decades, first reporting on him when she was the social housing and welfare reporter for the Herald in Auckland.

“Superannuation was a huge issue to Winston Peters,” recalled Young.

“He had been expelled from the National Party caucus. He had opposed their superannuation surtax and he was holding huge meetings around the country, campaigning against that surtax and also the Winebox [inquiry]. It was during that period between 93 and 96 that I started dealing with him.”

Young told The Front Page podcast that over the years she’s come to see him as a complex figure.

“He can be charming and good-humoured and loves a good time. He loves his history and music, and can be a bit of a showman, but, as we’ve seen recently, he can be quite irascible, cranky and rude. He has very little self-doubt and doesn’t seem to be able to admit he’s wrong.”

Peters is also politically complex, having worked with both National and Labour over the course of his political career.

Asked what motivates him, Young didn’t hesitate.

“I think it’s the contest,” she says.

“He loves a contest. And he absolutely loves a comeback as well. I think his political career is just littered with defeats and comebacks.”

Peters does have a resilience that’s quite rare in the political sphere. Whereas other politicians would struggle to ever return after being excluded from Parliament, Peters has a remarkable knack for clawing his way back into a position of power. Even in this year’s election, there were some doubts as to whether NZ First would be able to pass the 5 per cent threshold.

“This particular comeback ranks up there with the others,” said Young.

“If you saw his speech on election night, he was suggesting that people had laughed at him or had said it was impossible. And in fact, that’s not the case. Most political pundits were saying that you should never write him off, because he’s come back so often before.”

As things stand, negotiations are quietly occurring behind the scenes between National, Act and NZ First. So far, there have been no leaks at all on the nature of the discussions — and this is largely how Peters prefers to keep these negotiations.

“He’s not a tub-thumper,” said Young, when asked about Peters’ approach to negotiations.

“I don’t think he dominates discussions. He likes to be treated with respect, but he does include other MPs or party officials in them and he likes to do things quite properly. He expects a very good written record to be kept of all talks. And of all the discussions he’s had over the years, they have never leaked either. He puts a huge emphasis on confidentiality.”

So what will he probably request in the negotiations? And could he emerge as the next Deputy Prime Minister of the country once again?

Listen to the full episode of The Front Page to hear Young share more of her in-depth knowledge on one of the country’s most resilient politicians.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. It is presented by Damien Venuto, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in business reporting who joined the Herald in 2017.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.