New Zealand at the Polls (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780844733760)

New Zealand at the Polls: The General Election of 1978, edited by Howard R. Penniman, documents the latest political upheaval in a country long known for its placid public life. Amid severe economic difficulties and rising emigration, the National Party Government suffered a major loss of votes to the opposition. Though it managed (barely) to hold onto office thanks to the workings of the electoral system, National actually won fewer votes than Labour. The third party, Social Credit, made its best showing ever-and its indignation at receiving only 1.08 percent of the seats for its 16.1 percent of the votes went to swell the chorus of complaints that both the basis of the election and its outcome were unsound.

The essays in this volume describe New Zealand's electoral system and electorate and analyze the campaigns of the major and minor parties, the role of the media and the pollsters, women's participation in New Zealand politics, and the disputed races. The authors, all of them scholars working in New Zealand, are Stephen Levine, Keith Ovenden, Alan McRobie, Keith Jackson, Gilbert Antony Wood, Roderic Alley, Colin C. James, Brian Murphy, Les Cleveland, Judith Aitken, and Nigel S. Roberts. In an appendix, Richard M. Scammon provides detailed election returns.