EIU Briefing on NZ

The Economist website carries this EIU Briefing on NZ as a result of the election. It gives a concise summation of the current position, without indulging in idiocies such as the Australian Jill Singer in the Herald Sun of one day last week.

This was the concluding paragraph in the EIU Briefing:-

The weak domestic economy, combined with inevitable voter fatigue after Labour’s nine years in power, was a major contributor to the election defeat of Ms Clark’s government. However, Mr Key’s own honeymoon period is likely to be brief. Despite government efforts to boost growth, the global situation is so dire that New Zealand’s economy is still likely to remain weak in 2009 and 2010—the Economist Intelligence Unit’s current forecast is for 1.1% GDP growth next year, and 1.3% the following year. Mr Key, a 47-year-old former Merrill Lynch investment banker, has highlighted his financial-sector experience as an asset in a political leader at a time when an understanding of complex financial issues is paramount. But his investment-banking background and personal wealth could also become political liabilities if the country’s economic problems worsen and more voters experience financial hardship.