New Zealand Labour Party in the context of "Blackball, New Zealand"

Sir Robert David Muldoon GCMG CH PC (/mʌlˈduːn/; 25 September 1921 – 5 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st prime minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Departing from National Party convention, Muldoon was a right-wing populist and economic nationalist, with a distinctive public persona described as reactionary, aggressive, and abrasive.

After a troubled childhood, Muldoon served as a corporal and sergeant in the army in the Second World War. After a career as a cost accountant, he was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1960 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamaki, representing the National Party. Muldoon rose in the Second National Government to serve successively as Minister of Tourism (1967), Minister of Finance (1967–1972), and Deputy Prime Minister (1972). Over this time he built up an informal but solid backing amongst National's mostly rural right faction, which he called "Rob's Mob". After National lost the 1972 general election to the Labour Party, Muldoon used his connections to oust moderate party leader Jack Marshall and take his place, becoming Leader of the Opposition in 1974. Through Muldoon's ideological blend of moderate social liberalism and protectionist right-wing populism ("counterpunching", a term he coined) and the promise of a lucrative superannuation scheme, National enjoyed a resurgence. The early death of prime minister Norman Kirk severely weakened the Labour Party, and Muldoon soon led National to a decisive victory in the 1975 general election.

New Zealand politics have featured a strong party system since the early 20th century. Usually, all members of Parliament's unicameral House of Representatives belong to a political party.

The centre-left New Zealand Labour Party and the centre-right New Zealand National Party are New Zealand's two major parties, having jointly contested each election since 1938; they are the only two New Zealand political parties to have won the popular vote in four consecutive elections twice. Labour won the popular vote from the 1938 election through to 1946 and again from 1978 through to 1987 – although during the latter period National twice disproportionately gained a majority of seats. Likewise, National won the popular vote from 1960 through to 1969, and then again from 2008 through to 2017, but in the final year could not form a coalition government under proportional representation.

New Zealand is a representative democracy in which members of the unicameral New Zealand Parliament gain their seats through elections. General elections are usually held every three years; they may be held at an earlier date (a "snap" election) at the discretion of the prime minister (advising the governor-general), but that usually only happens in the event of a vote of no confidence or other exceptional circumstances. A by-election is held to fill an electorate vacancy arising during a parliamentary term. Election day is always a Saturday, but advance voting is allowed in the lead-up to it. The most recent general election took place on 14 October 2023.

New Zealand has a multi-party system due to proportional representation. The introduction of the mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system in 1993 was the most significant change to the electoral system in the 20th century. The Electoral Commission is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections. The introduction of MMP has led to mostly minority or coalition governments, but the first party to win an outright majority since the introduction of MMP was the Labour Party, led by Jacinda Ardern, in 2020.