New Zealand's new PM meets allies

Mr Key's National Party won 45% of the vote, against 34% for Labour

The winner of New Zealand's election, John Key, has been meeting with leaders of smaller political parties.

With 59 seats in parliament for his centre-right National Party, Mr Key needs at least five more to achieve a majority coalition.

He indicated on Monday he would get coalition support from the right-wing ACT party and centrist United Future.

Mr Key ended Helen Clark's nine years as leader of New Zealand in elections on Saturday.

My Key is hoping to be able to form a government and be signed in as prime minister within a week.

This would enable him to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Peru later this month, where the global financial turmoil will be discussed.

Main players

The centre-right opposition led by Mr Key won 45% of the vote, against 34% for Labour, leaving it just short of an overall majority.

"There's an assurance from the ACT party that one way or another they will be supporting a National-led government, so the issue is what form that relationship takes," Mr Key told reporters after meeting with ACT leader Rodney Hide.

Helen Clark is expected to start a new career in the international arena

Mr Key said he planned to bring the centrist United Future's single legislator, Peter Dunne, into his government, and added that he would also negotiate with the Maori Party, which represents the interests of the indigenous Maoris and has five seats.

Details of the alliances are not finalised but could involve appointing party leaders as ministers outside cabinet, rather than a formal coalition.

The final election vote count is not due to be announced until 22 November, the day after the Peru summit, so it is not clear whether Mr Key's government can be sworn in by then.

"I've got a framework in my head about how it's going to work, but there's a few moving parts, and we'll work our way through that," he told reporters.

"I think the country wants us to get on with it and that's the spirit we are going to go into those negotiations on," he said.

Mr Key is a former Merrill Lynch investment banker who only entered parliament six years ago.

Helen Clark has resigned as leader of the Labour Party and is widely expected to embark on a new, international career.

Her deputy Michael Cullen also announced he was quitting and local media report that former trade minister Phil Goff is seen as frontrunner for the party leadership.

Ms Clark has presided over years of strong growth and social reforms, but the economy has now gone into recession.