New Zealand delivers its tightest election in years, with no party winning a clear mandate

New Zealand voted in a new government on Saturday as fog choked the capital, Wellington — and the mood was as grey as the weather. After years of growing disillusionment, the election became the tightest in the country's history in years, with neither of the two major parties winning a clear mandate.

Twenty-one-year-old voter Imogen Vlutger said, 'It's pretty flat. There's this kind of apathy and a bit of dread.' Symone, 28, said, 'Tired. I think we're all tired.' A man in his 40s sheepishly admitted he had not voted at all — he could not bring himself to tick any of the boxes.

Polling shows the sentiment is pervasive across the country: the national mood is low and faith in politics even lower. A recent study found more than half the country no longer sees New Zealand as a land of opportunity, while a similar share fears the future looks even worse.

Saturday's election also saw a record number of voters desert the two major parties, giving neither a clear mandate. But it brought new highs for parties across the spectrum: the left-leaning Greens, the right-wing libertarian Act Party and the centrist Opportunity Party — the last of which had never won a seat in parliament before but could now hold the balance of power with seven seats.

The Opportunity Party says it is willing to work with either of the major parties. 'You have voted to change New Zealand politics for good,' its leader Quilae Wong told ecstatic supporters on election night. 'I personally came into this because I was frustrated at the slow pace of change.'

It will likely be weeks before we know exactly who will make up the governing coalition and what deals have been made to form it. But whoever becomes the next prime minister faces a country at a crossroads.

Many who spoke to the BBC said the country's decline accelerated into a dive during the Covid pandemic. Unemployment is now at an 11-year high and rising. For Kiwis aged under 24, things have not been this bad in three decades: one in three either cannot get enough work or has none at all.

Michael Dawson did everything he thought he was supposed to: finished school, studied a trade, obtained a qualification, and has applied for dozens of jobs. But it has been a year now and the job market is so dire he has not had a single interview. 'It has sucked. A lot... I'm somewhat cynical with the way I think about the future now,' the 20-year-old said.

Meanwhile, household electricity bills have jumped drastically, partly driven by global supply shocks. New Zealand remains one of the least affordable places on Earth to rent or buy a home, and high inflation means every dollar has to stretch further.

The island nation produces enough food to feed its population eight times over, but about a quarter of adults are skipping meals because the price of groceries — set by a supermarket duopoly — is among the highest in the developed world.

The headlines are also full of healthcare crises: long waiting lists, chronic understaffing, crumbling health infrastructure and climbing costs for patients. Few stories have captured the state of the system like the death of a man who collapsed in an emergency department toilet after a nine-hour wait in July.

This perfect storm is driving about 180 people to leave the country every day — a record-breaking exodus that is dividing families, shrinking communities and draining talent pools. Siblings Sam and Emily told the BBC they love New Zealand but find it hard to keep finding reasons to stay. Their friends are leaving en masse and even their parents have considered moving to Australia.

Sam said, 'It's not just that you're being rewarded for going to Australia, it's that you're kind of actively being punished for staying here.' There are still large parts of the country that feel differently, though.

At the nation's largest livestock saleyard in the town of Fielding, where farmers from all over the island have gathered, Stu Morton said the last year was the best he has had in his 30-year career. The agriculture industry — which makes up about 3 percent of New Zealand's GDP — was struggling under the previous Labour government's emissions reductions scheme, he said, but has turned a corner under the National Party.

'We've been through those times where you're questioning where's the future? What helps is having a stable government... and it comes down to a positive attitude — appreciating that what you've got is actually okay,' he said.

But these issues are having a corrosive impact on the country's national identity. Helen Clark, who was prime minister from 1999 to 2008, told the BBC, 'It leads to a crisis of confidence about what New Zealand is and where it's going.' Her foundation surveys New Zealanders every year about social cohesion, and its most recent report found Kiwis — in particular young people — feel far more isolated than they did a generation ago, attitudes towards multiculturalism are souring and the population is becoming less hopeful.

Faith in institutions and leaders has taken an alarming turn: only two out of five New Zealanders trust the government to do the right thing, while less than half of the country trusts the courts. 'There's a feeling that, really, there's no-one who cares,' Clark said.

The National Party came to power in 2023 promising to 'get our country back on track' and rebuild the economy. 'You'd have to say they've had very limited success,' political commentator Grant Duncan said. National delivered the education overhaul it pledged, but the biggest moment of its tenure was the massive hikoi — protest march — led by Māori over its coalition partner's unpopular bill to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi. National leader Christopher Luxon, who is seeking a second term, also fought off two leadership challenges in the past six months.

The transformation former Labour prime minister Jacinda Ardern promised on issues like healthcare and housing when she was elected in 2017 never eventuated. Many of her other achievements — for example world-leading smoking reforms, emissions reduction policies or Māori language initiatives — have been wound back by her successors, and her legacy is dominated by polarising Covid decisions.

Chris Hipkins, who was health minister before his eight months in the top job after Ardern's resignation, has been leader of the centre-left Labour Party since January 2023. It will take weeks to learn who forms the coalition, but whoever takes power will face the hard task of restoring the economy, health, housing and public trust.