Time to polish the crown: Winston Peters is Kingmaker again.
The final election vote count means New Zealand First is no longer a nice to have, it's a must-have for National to form a government.
The party lost two seats in the final wash up, meaning it's down to 48 MPs and with ACT's 11 it is still short of a majority.
The overall head count in parliament's expanded as well; Te Pati Maori has snatched another two Maori electorates seats from Labour creating an overhang of two seats.
And after the Waikato by election the total numbers of MP will be 123. National leader and incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the final count means he can accelerate negotiations toward a strong and stable government, but he can't give a time frame for delivery.
RNZ's own coalition of experts speaks to Lisa Owen.
Former ACT MP and Minister Heather Roy, former New Zealand First MP and Minister, Ron Mark and former National Party general Manager, Chris Simpson.
