Defeated PM Hipkins will remain leader of Labour Party

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins

Defeated New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said yesterday he will continue to lead his liberal Labour Party — for now, at least — despite its big election loss over the weekend.

“I’ve still got a bit of fight left in me,” Hipkins told reporters.

Hipkins made the comments after a meeting with his party’s caucus, during which there was no immediate move to oust him.

Still, Hipkins acknowledged that he and others in the party would be reflecting on their futures over the coming months and figuring out what would be best for the party going forward.

“Obviously the election result was one that was very disappointing to us as a team,” Hipkins said.

Former businessman Christopher Luxon will be the nation’s next prime minister after his conservative National Party won 39% of the vote during the election, by far the largest share of any single party.

Under New Zealand’s proportional system, National plans to form a coalition with the libertarian ACT Party.

The two parties combined hold only a slim majority, which could evaporate once the remaining 20% of outstanding votes are counted. In that instance, the parties would also need the support of a third party, New Zealand First, which is led by 78-year-old maverick Winston Peters.

Luxon said he wouldn’t be revealing the “blow-by-blow” details of the negotiations between the various parties until a deal is finalized.

“We had a mandate on Saturday night. We’re going to work our way through our arrangements,” Luxon told reporters.

He said the only roles that were locked in so far were his own as prime minister, and his deputy, Nicola Willis, as finance minister.

The final vote tally will be announced in early November.

Hipkins spent just nine months as prime minister after replacing Jacinda Ardern, who unexpectedly stepped down after five years in the top job. She won the last election in a landslide, but this time the Labour Party won just 27% of the vote.

One of Hipkins’s top deputies announced yesterday he would retire. Andrew Little, a former party leader who held many ministerial portfolios including health, immigration and defense, said by stepping aside he would allow a “face of the future” to take his place. MDT/AP