A former National Party minister has called for political war against NZ First, the party's coalition partner, saying Winston Peters' influence is damaging the government, RNZ reports.
Chris Finlayson, who served as Attorney-General under National and is establishment conservative through and through, has had enough of Winston Peters. His extraordinary public call for "war" on National's own coalition partner exposes deep fractures within the ruling government.
When establishment National figures are calling for war on their coalition partner seven months in, you know the government is in trouble. This isn't some backbencher - Finlayson is respected within National, known for his work on Treaty settlements and his measured approach to politics.
NZ First, led by the ever-unpredictable Peters, holds the balance of power in the coalition. Peters has used that leverage to push policies National would never normally touch, from his views on Māori co-governance to his scepticism of international institutions.
The coalition was always going to be tense - National needed NZ First and ACT to form government, creating a three-headed beast with fundamentally different priorities. But most observers expected them to at least maintain a united front until closer to the next election.
Finlayson's intervention suggests patience within National is wearing thin faster than expected. Peters is Peters - he was never going to be a quiet coalition partner. But the level of frustration from mainstream National figures is telling.
The question is whether National can afford to pick a fight with NZ First when they need their votes to govern. Peters has walked away from coalitions before. He's also stayed in them while being publicly criticised. Predicting what he'll do is a mug's game.
