The role of political positioning in party performance in the 2008 New Zealand General Election

Abstract

What accounts for variation in electoral success for minor parties in New Zealand? Although there have been many attempts to analyse minor party emergence and success, including institutional and sociological approaches, they have tended to exclude the role of political positioning. With this in mind, this thesis uses the work of Meguid and Green to explain minor party performance at the 2008 New Zealand general election. It is argued that the tactics of political parties, both major and minor, will considerably influence the electoral fortunes of one another, recognising that party tactics work by altering the salience and ownership of issues for political competition. Minor party performance was analysed for the New Zealand 2008 general election campaign. The thesis found that political positioning by both major and minor parties can influence the electoral performance of minor parties. Furthermore, positioning was not limited to just policy but also to non-policy events, such as potential coalition make-ups.