Would it be better if the process were closer to an arranged marriage? Invite in independent experts to guide the process, assess the personalities, get advice from friends and family to make sure of compatibility. Even with all that effort, will the marriage last?
For the record, I'm not watching Married at First Sight, or re-runs of Blind Date. I'm also avoiding all the opinion pieces entitled "Which way will Winston go" and "What about a teal deal". Too much interviewing the typewriter then adding in a controversial headline for my liking.
I can't see there's any publicly-available info or even decent hints on whether we'll have a National-NZ First government or a Labour-Green-NZ First government. My preference is probably obvious - I'd like to see the Greens part of the next government.
Too late for campaigning now on all the benefits of Greens in government, plus I don't think Winston is going to be reading this column prior to his final decision. In fact, this column may be out-of-date by the time of publication!
What isn't likely to expire is the discussion around MMP. What should be the threshold?
Should we drop from 5 per cent to 4 per cent like the 2012 Electoral Commission report recommended? Why do we need a threshold at all? What would have been the result if there was no threshold?
Instead of answering those questions, let me recommend you find a column by Michael Wright on this topic. It's a good analysis.
I also find some of the people criticising Winston's power as a symptom of MMP not working somewhat disingenuous. This tweet from @Ellipsister makes the point well: "Finding bizarre MMP critics problem with a 7% party deciding govt but not a 'seat only on less than 1%' doing just that for 9 yrs" (a dig at Act and their presence in the previous government achieved through the Epsom "cup of tea" deal).
There seems to be a double standard around the perceived stability of a government, depending on whether its left or right. National worked alongside three other parties last cycle; Labour is hoping to work with two, but the over-riding (and hypocritical) message is that the Nats would be more stable than a Labour combo.
I absolutely do not want to see a return of the First Past the Post days. We have stronger representation through MMP, although we could go further. We could combine MMP with the Single Transferable Vote system, or another form of preferential voting. Then all our votes would really count.
And, yes, I'm biased because I think it would lead to a stronger showing for the Greens - are we everyone's second favourite party (not mine, first favourite all the way)?
So will we wake up tomorrow and find out the make-up of the 52nd New Zealand government? Or should the latest TV series be called Winston Waits instead?
*Nicola Patrick is a Horizons regional councillor, works for Te Kaahui o Rauru and is exploring a social enterprise hub for Whanganui. A mother of two boys, she has a science degree and is a Green Party member.
