New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party (Māori: Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa) shortened to National (Nāhinara) is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of a number of major parties that largely dominate contemporary New Zealand politics.

Previous iteration
The New Zealand National Party was previously founded on the 14th of May 1936 following a merger of the liberal, urban United Party and the conservative, rural Reform Party. Following the effects of the Great Depression, these two parties in coalition lost significantly to the New Zealand Labour Party in the 1935 general election. In order to better combat the popularity of the Labour Party of Michael Joseph Savage, the Coalition merged into one Party that would represent the nation, rather than just the urban and rural bases of each respective party.

Sidney Holland led the way to the formation of the First National Government in 1949, notably using harsh measures in 1951 to end the Waterfront Dispute involving striking port workers and enlarged the National Government's majority in a snap election later that year, however later resigned the Prime Ministership in 1957 due to poor health, notably suffering from a stroke while working in his office amid the events of the Suez Crisis in October 1956. This led to way to Keith Holyoake's leadership of the National Party, suffering defeat the next year in 1958 to Walter Nash's Labour Party, Holyoake rallied the National Party to victory only 3 years later in the 1961 election, this Second National Government under Holyoake would last until 1972 when Holyoake would resign the Prime Ministership and Leadership of the Party to his then-Deputy Leader, Jack Marshall, who would go on to fail to best a refreshed Labour Party under Norman Kirk that year.

Due to his failure in 1972, Marshall was challenged by Holyoake's Finance Minister, the then-Deputy Leader Robert Muldoon who believed that the Party was too "soft" on Kirk's Third Labour Government. Muldoon would take National to victory again just 3 years later in the 1975 general election. Under Muldoon's Third National Government, National moved further into its interventionist desires away from its traditionally economically liberal roots and increased state control over the economy and implemented policies like "Think Big". This National Government would go on to lose the 1984 election, and Muldoon found himself out of the Leadership of the National Party, with Jim McLay, a prominent member of the 1980 "Colonels' Coup", one of his associates, Jim Bolger, would later in turn successfully challenge McLay for his leadership of the National Party, where Bolger would go on to lose the 1987 election to Lange's Fourth Labour Government, but only 6 years after previously being in Government would secure the re-election of the National Party in 1990's general election. This Government would go on to continue, due to the situation of the economy, a radically market-liberal economic policy that earned the outgoing Labour Government much derision. Following an arrangement with Winston Peters's New Zealand First party in 1996, Jenny Shipley, who had ousted Bolger as Leader and Prime Minister in 1997, nearly caused the collapse of the Fourth National Government, however would go on to lose the 1999 election to a renewed and healthier Labour Party under Helen Clark's leadership.

Following Shipley being removed from the leadership in 2001, Bill English would go on to take the National Party to its then worst-ever electoral defeat, and was removed by Don Brash from leadership in 2003. Under Brash, the National Party made renewed efforts to attract socially conservative voters by campaigning on race relations, amid claims of preferential treatment of Māori, and would adopt anti-abortion and anti-same-sex marriage positions. Despite a very close vote, National failed to win the 2005 election, and Brash would stay on as Leader until November 2006 when controversy following Nicky Hager's release of the book The Hollow Men would damage Brash's leadership beyond repair. Following his resignation, John Key became the Leader of the National Party, and he would go on to lead the National Party to victory in 2008. Key's Fifth National Government oversaw the rise of New Zealand following the effects of the Global Financial Crisis, the Pike River Mine Disaster of 2010, the 2010-2011 Christchurch Earthquakes and another major earthquake in Kaikōura in 2016. Key would resign from the Leadership and Prime Ministership making way for his Deputy, former National Party Leader Bill English to become Prime Minister. English would again take the National Party to defeat following a tightly contested election in 2017, and would resign the Leadership in February 2018 to retire from politics. Simon Bridges would take over the National Party Leadership and on many occasions outpolled Jacinda Ardern's Sixth Labour Government, however following an announcement regarding the country's COVID-19 Lockdown in March 2020, Bridges made an announcement on his Facebook page that was grievously unpopular and as National's popularity tumbled, he was ousted in May 2020 by then MP for Bay of Plenty, Todd Muller. Muller would resign from the Leadership less than 3 months following taking the Leadership, and Judith Collins would take on the Leadership in July 2020, where she would take National to its worst defeat since 2002. National would then go on to fail to contest the October 2020 general election, and would remain a dissolved Party until an announcement by then Leader of the Opposition Winston Wilhelmus that the New Zealand First Party was rebranding to retake the brand of National in December 2020.