Steven Joyce: Former Cabinet Minister on the release of special votes and the formation of Government

Former cabinet minister Steven Joyce told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking that he expects National to lose two seats.  “The advanced vote was as high as 41-42% for National, but on the day, it was 36-37%,” he said.  “Let’s say the special largely reflects what happened on the day, they may lose a couple of seats.“  “However, if the specials include a lot of advanced voting, then it could be better for National.”  Joyce said he expects the international votes to break for the party as there was a lot of anger about New Zealanders being shut out of the country.  When asked if he thinks a government could be in place by next week, Joyce said that will largely depend on Winston.  “Seymour will be enthusiastic to get started, but Winston won’t mind a few days either way,” he said.  Joyce said Peters will want to be seen as constructive.  “At this stage, he doesn’t have too many cards to play.”  “His other alternative is to sit on the cross benches and vote against the government on a regular basis, which will be tool in which the public will get more and more frustrated with him.”  He said people shouldn’t bet the house on having a government formed next week.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.