When will we get a government?

It’s been more than three weeks since New Zealand tried to elect a government and it’s looking like that wait will continue.

The country was gearing up to hear the results of a week of closeddoor meetings on Thursday, then Friday.

Then we were told the NZ First board would meet to decide yesterday, but those talks have adjourned for the night and will continue today.

But NZ First leader Winston Peters has said we would have a new government by the end of the week, at the latest.

It’s becoming harder to take these Winston-imposed deadlines seriously, as they come and then go. In the meantime, the country continues to tick on, but without new leadership.

At least we won’t have to wait as long as the Dutch (208 days) or the Belgians (541 days).

There is a legal obligation to open Parliament within two months of election day. Hopefully, Peters won’t string us along until November 23.

Why all the waiting?

Following the election, Labour and NZ First said they wanted to wait for the official results before jumping into negotiations.

That waiting proved frustrating for many but necessary, as it changed the vote-share, with National losing two seats and the Left bloc gaining two.

Peters then said negotiations would finish by the return of the writ.

That left just five days for parallel negotiations with National and Labour. Labour also met with the Greens on the side.

That self-imposed deadline came on Thursday, and Peters didn’t make an announcement.

Instead he said any deal had to be approved by the board in a faceto-face meeting, and things like flights and funerals could delay the meeting.

The meeting was set for yesterday, giving Peters one day to meet his caucus and two days to go home and hold discussions with his closest advisers – away from the prying eyes of the media.

He probably just wanted to buy himself a bit of time to mull things over.

To be fair, it’s a pretty hefty decision to make.

But surely that would mean he’d have made a decision by the time he returned to Wellington yesterday, and the board meeting would be no more than a fleeting formality?

And that could mean a government by bedtime?

Not necessarily.

What happens next?

Despite official negotiations wrapping on Thursday, both Labour and National exchanged letters and phone calls with NZ First during the weekend.

There are still important details, including ministerial portfolios, to be worked through this week.

The board managed to overcome its logistical issues to convene yesterday morning and go over all nine possible permutations of government.

It has to sign off on any coalition deal.

In reality, Peters is looking for an endorsement of his decision.

But the process doesn’t stop there.

The other parties involved also have to get sign-off from their board (National), council (Labour), or delegates (Greens).

The parties have their people on standby so they can convene over teleconference within hours, in order to get a deal over the line.

Once NZ First, or should we say, Peters, has decided which way he’s going, it’s likely to take a matter of hours to get sign off and get to work swearing in the next government.

What will Winston do?

That’s the million-dollar question.

Some have had a stab at guessing, and justifying, which way Peters is likely to go.

But opinions are divided and, really, it’s best not to try and get inside that man’s head.

Unfortunately, for now, we are just going to have to wait a little longer.