The election of Donald Trump might be a bigger problem for the fortunes of New Zealand’s National-led coalition government than a Kamala Harris presidency, Prof Robert Patman believes. Trump has beaten Harris in a close contest with a clear outcome — ‘‘an incredible political comeback’’ — making him the 45th and 47th president of the United States. Ironically, while New Zealand’s centre-right government might be more closely ideologically aligned with Trump’s Republican Party, the election of Democrat Harris as US president would have had a better option for the coalition’s economic and political fortunes, international relations specialist Prof Patman says. ‘‘What Mr Trump is proposing, for example sweeping tariffs, is going to affect our economic performance.’’Watch full interviewProf Patman says Trump has a top-down view of the world that means great powers, and not New Zealand, will be his priority. he is an enemy of multi-lateralism, which is a keystone of New Zealand foreign policy.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 07, 2024 04:06 UTC