Part of the Politics series |
Populism |
---|
![]() |
During the 1990s New Zealand saw a growth in populism,[1] a political trend whose advocates claim to work for "the people" rather than for the "elite". The rise of populism in the country has been attributed to the introduction of the mixed-member proportional electoral system, as well as to the populist nature of election campaigns, such as that of the Labour Party in the lead-up to the 1999 election.[citation needed] The New Zealand First party, which has historically taken a nationalist standpoint, has been described as a populist party.[1][2][3]
The region with the clearest populist tradition is Australasia, more specifically Australia and New Zealand. Both countries have seen the rise of right-wing populist parties in the 1990s … New Zealand First (NZF) and One Nation (ONP) emerged out of a growing frustration with increased immigration and with neoliberal welfare state reforms.