New Zealand is heading towards a new government, with a new prime minister. Weekend elections marked a shift to the right, but much remains uncertain.
Christopher Luxon has been in the world of New Zealand politics for about three years.
That's also how long he's been a member of parliament.
Now he's heading for the prime minister's office as the leader of the right-of-center National Party.
Luxon comes from the business world. He spent eight years as CEO of Air New Zealand and stepped down in 2020. Before that, he spent nearly 20 years in several countries for the multinational consumer goods company Unilever, rising to become CEO of the company's Canadian operations.
Politically, this is a shift to the right for New Zealand. The New York Times headlined the weekend election by saying the country elected “its most conservative government in decades.”
Jessica Arden was the Labour Party leader who served as prime minister for over five years.
She surprised New Zealand's political world by stepping down in January, saying she no longer had "enough in the tank" to do the job.
Her successor, Chris Hipkins, faced an economic slowdown, including stubborn inflation.
In its challenge to the incumbent government, Luxon’s party pushed tax cuts while campaigning on promises to “restore law and order.”
Luxon's immediate task is pulling together a government with the help of a coalition partner, the libertarian ACT Party.
