Do we have a co-prime ministership?

Fran O’Sullivan writes:

Winston Peters and Jacinda Ardern are in danger of moving towards a co-prime ministership in all but name.

It won’t be formally described that way. But the New Zealand First leader — who is officially Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister — is demonstrating that he is prepared to go against Ardern if she announces policies that are either not already announced in the Speech from the Throne or are not contained in the coalition and support agreements which Labour signed following last year’s election.

This week’s kerfuffle over how many additional refugees should be allowed into New Zealand was a stark illustration of just how aggressively the NZ First leader will play his hand on such issues.

Right now, Peters has considerable power in the Coalition and is not afraid to use it.

We have a situation now where anything a Minister says can’t be taken as a Government position, unless Winston says so. Up until then, it is merely a ministerial preference!