The birth of a child is almost always a joyous event, but it's especially so for a government that desperately needs the time-out to re-set itself and rediscover its discipline and competence
Read MoreJacinda Ardern
Budget 2018: Backing empathy with steel?
Will the Budget truly stand behind the new kindness initiative? Here's a wish list to set the agenda
Read MoreRules of engagement: think of the children
Here's a rule for how you might – and might not – debate politics online. Ask yourself if youd say it in front of someone's children
Read MoreOil be alright. But has Labour learnt the wrong lesson from its past?
Jacinda Ardern has drawn on our national pride in New Zealand's nuclear-free stance to rally support for her decision to end offshore oil drilling. But her announcement has echoes of Douglas and Prebble as much as Lange and Palmer
Read MorePlaying political dress-up – Party leaders still trying on their new roles
Four of New Zealand's five most senior politicians are now under 45 and one the most notable features of this term so far is the sight of party leaders struggling to exercise power and to come to terms with the big jobs
Read MoreWhoops, sorry, the dog ate my Russian spy
Looking at the long lead-up to New Zealand's increasingly curious stance on Russia, the government seems to be wasting diplomatic capital at a time it should be storing it up against future need
Read MorePredictable polls and bye-bye Bill
As all things new come to dominate New Zealand's political landscape, National will be forced more quickly than it hoped to confront its own need for change. Tonight's poll offers succour for the party, but tolls the bell for Bill.
Read More"Do it for all of us". Can Labour save social democracy?
Social democracy is in trouble. Social democratic parties have been annihilated in Greece, reduced to a shadow in France and struggle in Scandinavia. Corbyn in Britian and Sanders in the United States have support but can't get elected. Can New Zealand Labour show that it is not only possible to form a government but also to save social democracy?
Read MoreImagine - Ardern, Gayford, motherhood and work
The announcement by Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford that they will be parents this year for the first time suggests a Rubicon is about to be crossed. Some progress has been made toward women being able to be mothers and in paid employment but there is some way to go. Given Ardern and Gayford's prominence they may be about to make the tectonic plates of our society shift.
Read MoreJim Anderton's political legacy... & his final win
Jim Anderton has died at a time when the party he fought for, then walked out on, looks more like him than it does his erstwhile opponents.
Read MoreMini-Budget needs to light a fire under 'the optional government'
Incumbency is the super power every politician craves, yet this oddly muted new Labour-led government doesn't seem to have figured out how to use it yet. This week's mini-Budget is now crucial if it wants to position itself as a truly transformational government
Read MoreHow goes the revolution? Too soon to say
While they're still getting used to being taken seriously and driven around in limos, we've already seen some fumbles and fair play by the new government
Read MoreIn defence of discord
Kumbaya be damned... Labour needs to pull-up its big boy pants, thank National for its robust approach and get on with business. That is how you become a great government
Read MoreA very MMP election... & a manicured mandate
After a wee holiday, some thoughts on how the new government should play its hand... and reflections on some good decisions that laid the ground for the 'coalition of losers'
Read MoreThis is it - a government - soon - maybe
Maybe there will be a government this week. Maybe not. To fill the vacuum speculation is the only alternative.
Read MoreA worry-wort's guide to Election 17 - the Majors
While we wait for the specials to be counted and negotiations to begin, we can review what happened in Election 2017. A determinedly glass half-empty view of the results shows the big two parties have plenty to fret about
Read MoreExclusive: Winston weighs up which way to go
Pundit can reveal an exclusive report from inside Winston's head... We see what he's actually thinking
Read MoreA new beast of a government, whichever way Winston goes
The vote this election was quite predictable, but the journey of the campaign was not and whichever new government we get, it will be very different from the John Key years
Read MoreBill makes history before heading into the Winston maze
With so much analysis it can be easy to miss the wood for the trees at this point. While there's still nothing certain about our next government, we can look back to look forward and recognise the historic nature of this result
Read MoreHow your vote may turn into a government
So who might be able to work with whom after this weekend's election? Well, it's complicated...
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