Latest news with #coalitiongovernment
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
New Zealand swears in new deputy prime minister
SYDNEY, May 31 (Reuters) - David Seymour, leader of the libertarian ACT New Zealand party, was sworn in as deputy prime minister on Saturday, taking the role from Winston Peters in a deal struck when the three-party coalition government was formed in 2023. His party was behind last year's controversial move to enshrine a narrower interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi that it says discriminates against non-Indigenous citizens, though the bill failed in parliament. Seymour was appointed in a ceremony at Auckland's Government House, a spokesperson told Reuters. ACT New Zealand is the junior partner in the centre-right ruling coalition that also includes the Peters-led New Zealand First and the National Party, led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. In parliament since 2014, Seymour will retain the role of regulation minister, tasked to assess rules in the Pacific nation of 5.3 million and keep the position of associate minister of health, finance, and education. Seymour has also driven efforts to legalise euthanasia, voted to legalise abortion in 2020 and attended a pro-Hong Kong democracy protest in Auckland in 2019. ACT New Zealand wants a smaller role for government and a bigger role for free markets, it says on its website.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
A new coalition challenges Suriname's president after a close election
PARAMARIBO, Suriname (AP) — Suriname could soon have its first female president after a party led by a medical doctor formed a coalition aimed at ousting the South American country's current leader following a weekend election with no clear winner. Dr. Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, of the National Democratic Party, formed a coalition with five other parties late Tuesday as workers still tallied votes from Sunday's National Assembly election. The chamber chooses the president by a two-thirds vote. The coalition was formed as the troubled country prepares for an influx of wealth following the discovery of major offshore oil deposits, with the first production expected by 2028. The National Democratic Party has so far secured 18 seats in the 51-member National Assembly, while the Progressive Reform Party of President Chandrikapersad Santokhi clinched 17, losing three seats in the election. However, votes at some polling stations were still being counted, and recounts in some places were already underway in the Dutch-speaking country of more than 646,000 people. Once preliminary results are confirmed, the National Assembly would then meet to choose a president. The coalition headed by Geerlings-Simons so far appears to hold 34 seats, which would be just enough to muster a two-thirds majority. Geerlings-Simons took leadership of the National Democratic Party from Desi Bouterse, a former dictator convicted of murder who left the country in financial ruin. He died last year. Joining her to form a coalition was the Alternative 2020 party; the Brotherhood and Unity in Politics party; the General Liberation and Development Party founded by vice president and former rebel leader Ronnie Brunswijk; the National Party of Suriname; and the Pertjajah Luhur Party. The last three parties used to back Suriname's president in a coalition but recently have dropped their support, accusing him of not involving them in policy creation. Santokhi's five-year presidency also was riddled with corruption scandals, and he was forced to call on the International Monetary Fund to get Suriname's economy back on track. As a result, the country's nearly $4 million public debt was largely restructured and government subsidies reduced. Macroeconomically, Santokhi achieved success, but people groaned under the austerity measures, which sparked violent protests.
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Thaksin-Backed Coalition Risks Fracturing in Thai Budget Vote
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's less than one-year-old government faces its biggest test yet, with feuding between the two biggest coalition parties threatening the national budget. The fate of the $113 billion spending plan lies in the hands of the conservative Bhumjaithai party, the second-largest group in an alliance that commands a nearly two-thirds majority in the legislature. Bhumjaithai has been quarreling with the biggest coalition party Pheu Thai of Paetongtarn and her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The Herald
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Trump ambush a sideshow as SA investors focus on coalition
For investors, the spectacle of President Cyril Ramaphosa's fraught Oval Office encounter with US counterpart Donald Trump was little more than a sideshow. The true test for Africa's most industrialised nation, they said, will be whether its coalition government can survive long enough to bolster lacklustre growth and contain debt. When Trump confronted Ramaphosa on Wednesday with false claims of white genocide and land seizures during a face-to-face meeting at the White House that was broadcast live, back home South African politicians were finally uniting behind a budget. Though it took three attempts, agreement on the spending bill puts to bed, at least for the moment, a tug-of-war that earlier this year threatened to destroy the fragile political union and sent the rand toward record lows and bond yields spiking. The drawn-out budget saga was a painful episode for the government of national unity (GNU), its first significant attempt at a governing coalition in the country's 30-year history as a multiracial democracy. A breakup of the GNU, which includes the ANC and longtime rival DA, would have derailed the reform momentum investors have been calling for. However, risks remain, investors told Reuters.
Zawya
23-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Trump ambush a sideshow, as South African investors focus on coalition
JOHANNESBURG - For investors, the spectacle of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's fraught Oval Office encounter with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump was little more than a sideshow. The true test for Africa's most industrialised nation, they say, will be whether its coalition government can survive long enough to bolster lacklustre growth and contain debt. As Trump confronted Ramaphosa on Wednesday with false claims of white genocide and land seizures during a face-to-face meeting at the White House that was broadcast live, back home South African politicians were finally uniting behind a budget. Though it took three attempts, agreement on the spending bill puts to bed, at least for now, a tug-of-war that earlier this year threatened to destroy the fragile political union and had sent the rand toward record lows and bond yields spiking. The drawn-out budget saga was a painful episode for South Africa's government of national unity (GNU) - its first significant attempt at a governing coalition in the country's 30-year history as a multiracial democracy. A breakup of the GNU, which includes the African National Congress and longtime rival Democratic Alliance, would have derailed the reform momentum investors have been calling for. But risks still remain, investors told Reuters. "I'm looking for the coalition to stay together. That's the most important thing," said Shamaila Khan, head of emerging-market fixed income at UBS Wealth Management. "For now the coalition is in place, but it's a shaky coalition. So you want to be careful what you buy and make sure there's enough risk premium there." INEQUALITY, UNEMPLOYMENT AND DEBT RISKS For the past two decades, South Africa has struggled to achieve growth high enough to make a meaningful dent in gaping inequality and an unemployment rate that ranks among the world's highest. Public debt, meanwhile, has shot up as the government has failed to rein in runaway spending, prompting credit rating downgrades. For investors overall, most of the budget is market-neutral, said Kim Silberman, macro strategist at Matrix Fund Managers. "The risk is that it's unlikely that the debt will stabilise this year," she said. The revised budget, stripped of a contentious value-added tax hike, which the fiscally conservative DA had opposed, puts this year's deficit at 4.8% of GDP and lifts the peak debt ratio to 77.4% in 2025/26, up from 76.2% in March ahead of a decline. But much of the plan hinges on higher revenue collection and cost-cutting, with analysts predicting a challenge ahead. The "real work now begins", JPMorgan said in a note to clients on Thursday. 'LESSONS WERE LEARNED' National Treasury officials told an investor call on Wednesday that South Africa is committed to fiscal discipline and maintaining credibility. They also place significant faith in the South African Revenue Service, which recently received additional income. SARS has indicated it could generate an extra 20-50 billion rand (1.1-$2.8 billion) annually, which is currently not pencilled into the next budget but would enable Treasury to withdraw planned tax increases down the line. In an interview with Reuters, however, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana warned that missing the revenue target would force substantial cost cutting. Navigating the fragile balance between shoring up finances while keeping on board all the GNU's various coalition partners - some of whom, like the ANC and DA, embrace radically different ideologies - will be a balancing act for policy makers. "Local politics play a big role," said Brendan McKenna, an executive director at Wells Fargo, who covers emerging market economies and currency strategies. If the coalition government is preserved, which is McKenna's base scenario, South Africa may gather more robust growth momentum and local markets could maintain their solid performance. "Should the GNU disintegrate, growth prospects would dwindle and (the rand) would come under pressure. The possibility of recession would rise and stagnant medium-term growth would likely be a result," said McKenna. Treasury officials acknowledged the increased political complexity when speaking to investors. The first two budget attempts collapsed under a kind of political turbulence not seen in democratic-era South Africa until the ANC, the party of the late Nelson Mandela, lost its 30-year parliamentary majority in last year's election. "The budget was the first significant piece of legislation that the new government had to consider," Treasury officials said. "Important lessons were learned." ($1 = 18.0238 rand)
