New Zealand PM John Key announces shocking resignation

New Zealand Prime Minister John KeyWellington New Zealand Prime Minister John Key who won praise for his economic stewardship after the global financial crisis unexpectedly announced his resignation on Monday saying it was time to leave politics after more than eight years in power Key said he had no immediate future plans but told reporters he would stay in parliament long enough for his centreright National Party to avoid a byelection for his seatThere is no way I could have served out a full fourth term Key said at his weekly press conference in Wellington citing family reasons for his departure The National Party caucus will hold a meeting on December 12 to decide the new party leader and prime minister Key said he would vote for his deputy and finance minister Bill English to take over if he decided to stand English a political veteran who previously worked on the family farm and as a policy analyst at the Treasury Department would likely continue with many of Keys core policies analysts said National elections are not expected until late 2017Key a multimillionaire former foreign exchange dealer who worked at firms including Merrill Lynch won office for the National Party in 2008 ending the nineyear rule of Labouracirciquestiquests Helen Clark English briefly served as leader of the National Party previously trying and failing to unseat Clark in 2002 Together Key and English won praise for their stewardship of the NZ240 billion 170 billion economy in the aftermath of the global financial crisis and two devastating earthquakes near Christchurch In October New Zealand reported its second straight budget surplus as solid economic growth boosted tax receiptsKey is stepping down with his party in a dominant position in New Zealands Germanstyle mixed member proportional representation parliament A Roy Morgan poll last week showed support for the National Party up 15 percent to 495 percent clearly ahead of the LabourGreens alliance at 375 percent support Bryce Edwards lecturer in politics at the University of Otago said the resignation came as a shock given Keys personal popularity As a top trader he knows you sell stocks when they are at their highs not lows Edwards told ReutersSo hes managed to leave politics on a high note and will go down in history as a popular politician The absence of Key from New Zealand politics raises questions about the ability of the National Party to retain its popularity at the next election Edwards added The New Zealand dollar fell around a fifth of a US cent on the news to 07084 One issue to be mindful of is that weve had political stability in New Zealand now for a number of years said Philip Borkin a senior economist at ANZThat may not change significantly but it does add a little bit of uncertainty to the political environment that were used to Key and his party have governed during a period of rapid house price increases which has led to criticism from political opponents that the government has not done enough to make housing affordable Jon Johansson professor at politics at Victoria University said the timing of Keys announcement just a week before the National Partys leadership election was clearly designed to favour EnglishIt doesnt give a lot of time for alternative tickets to organise themselves Asked if he had any regrets Key said that not getting the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal over the line was a major one but it was time to call it quits for his wife Bronagh Ten years at the top is a long time it is a lot of lonely nights for Bronagh I really feel I owe it to family to come home 1 14112 New Zealand dollars