New Zealand election may turn on spy scandal
Labour and National parties neck-and-neck ahead of Saturday’s vote

New Zealand’s conservative National party had hoped to coast into a fourth consecutive win at this Saturday’s election, but the status quo is being threatened by an upstart Labour opposition leader and an internal spy scandal.
Energetic 38-year-old Jacinda Ardern moved into the spotlight only two months ago when Labour leader Andrew Little resigned. Previously Little's deputy, Ardern was appointed opposition leader to take on Prime Minister Bill English.
Ardern, a novice who once worked as an aide to Tony Blair, went down well with women on the campaign trail, particularly when she slapped down an interviewer asking if she had plans to have a baby, The Daily Mail says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a remarkable turn-around, Ardern is now a household name worldwide and Saturday’s race is “neck-and-neck”, says CNBC.
The China connection
Jacinda Ardern isn’t the only wild card in an unusually exciting New Zealand political race, infused with John Le Carre-style intrigue.
A joint investigation by the Financial Times and Newsroom NZ made international headlines last week when journalists accused National party MP Jian Yang of having once taught at an elite Chinese spy school.
The alleged that Yang spent a decade in China receiving military and intelligence training and working as a teacher at the Luoyang Foreign Language Institute, described by the FT as China’s answer to the UK’s GCHQ intelligence agency.
Yang denied being a spy during a press conference last week but admitted training Chinese spies to monitor communications from other countries. He refused to say whether they included New Zealand.
Echos of The Americans
“The story of Jian Yang MP has echoes of The Americans,” says The Sunday Times, referring to the television spy series about undercover Russian agents who live abroad and work in banal jobs.
Even if Yang has done nothing wrong, the spy scandal has cast Bill English's National party in a poor light.
“It is entirely possible that Yang severed all ties with Chinese military intelligence when he left China in 1994 and has had no contact with any Chinese agents since then,” writes the FT’s Jamil Anderlini. But he adds: “The fact he was able to enter parliament with very little scrutiny and serve on a committee overseeing foreign affairs, defence and trade, and that his education and military intelligence background appeared nowhere on his official biographies in New Zealand, raises some troubling questions.”
The spy row has “boosted” Ardern’s chances of becoming prime minister, The Sunday Times says, and has re-engergised a campaign bogged down with more minor issues, including plans to make New Zealand rivers swimmable, boost student allowances and invest in roads and transport links.
“Anticipation is building in the south Pacific nation where, for the first time in a decade, the outcome of the vote is genuinely up for grabs,” The Guardian says.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Music reviews: Bon Iver, Valerie June, and The Waterboys
Feature "Sable, Fable," "Owls, Omens, and Oracles," "Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper"
By The Week US
-
Are bonds worth investing in?
the explainer They can diversify your portfolio and tend to be a safer investment than stocks
By Becca Stanek, The Week US
-
Elon has his 'Legion.' How will Republicans encourage other Americans to have babies?
Today's Big Question The pronatalist movement finds itself in power
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK