The battle for the hearts, minds and votes of New Zealanders is over - nearly - with the preliminary results on Saturday putting National in a position to form the next government and Labour consigned to the opposition benches.

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"Making sure there's good glue, actually making sure we've got strong stable relationships" - Christopher Luxon

The battle for the hearts, minds and votes of New Zealanders is over - nearly - with the preliminary results on Saturday putting National in a position to form the next government and Labour consigned to the opposition benches.

National's exact path to government is not fully clear, and depends on the final vote count. Even so, it's far preferable to the position Labour's in, having to put on a brave face despite anger and recriminations at the result.

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Based on preliminary count, National could go ahead with their preferred option - a two-party coalition with ACT - but with a razor-thin majority the option of including New Zealand First and leader Winston Peters is very much in play.

National's leader Christopher Luxon spoke the day after the election about being aligned with ACT, and having good chemistry with its leader David Seymour, using language like "mergers and acquisitions", and later talking about taking on a more managerial chief executive role than focusing on a particular portfolio.

Seymour told RNZ political reporter Anneke Smith on election night that New Zealand faced many problems, but political stability was needed. He said ACT and National had similar beliefs around reducing government expenditure - so there's certainly some common ground.

"The recent forecasts for economic growth placed New Zealand as one of the slowest-growing economies in the world. That's an immediate problem but it's also a long-term trend that needs to be addressed."

Read more:

Political panel: 'Mergers and acquisitions' in limboland

Comment: Labour out, National in - either way, neoliberalism wins again

New Green MPs, co-leaders speak at Parliament

Election campaign fight for your eyeballs: Parties' social media use

Analysis: Luxon gets the job as PM - and deal-making headache

Labour's caucus meeting 'pretty rough'- Hipkins…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details