Prime Minister Christopher Luxon - with Nicola Willis - announces the general election will be held on 7 November. Photo: RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon
Analysis - In 2011, when John Key surprised voters with his early announcement of a November election, a Waikato Times cartoon captured the public mood with a reeling voter despairing "296 days of campaigning".
Fourteen years on, Christopher Luxon has revived the November timetable and with it, perhaps the same reaction.
This time, at least, our emblematic voter has just 290-odd days to endure.
One would not want to overstate the lateness of the date. Since the advent of MMP, New Zealand has held one election in July, three in September, three in October and three in November.
So November is not exceptional. It is, however, on the later side of the ledger and leaves a long runway between now and polling day.
Asked about his motivations, Luxon danced around the question, calling November the "logical" choice given the options available on the calendar and various competing occasions.
He eventually conceded that "every day makes a difference" to the economic recovery.
ACT's leader and deputy prime minister David Seymour was a bit more candid: "I think it's only fair that people get to judge the government on the benefits of its policies delivered before they choose."
In other words: a later election gives the government more time for the emerging "green shoots" to fully bloom - and for voters to feel the economic recovery in their wallets.
Treasury forecasts are picking GDP to pick up in the back half of the year, with unemployment beginning to trend down.
The coalition parties are banking on that improvement feeding through into confidence, optimism, and ultimately votes. Support for the status quo.
It's not an unreasonable assumption - if those forecasts do indeed eventuate. The past few years have proved how fragile those forecasts can be.
The flipside to the late date is that it also leaves plenty of time and opportunity for things to go awry, either at home or abroad.
Few would bet against US President Donald Trump throwing a spanner in the works and upsetting the road back to recovery.
The still-unfolding Greenland negotiations are a fresh reminder of how quickly overseas shocks can derail domestic recoveries.
Closer to home, the long runway also allows more time for internal coalition tensions to mount, undermining Luxon's claims on providing the "strongest, stablest form of government".
Late last year gave just a taster of that building friction as Winston Peters vowed to repeal ACT's Regulatory Standards Act. David Seymour fired back, effectively accusing him of disloyalty.
That stoush will not be the last. All three coalition parties will be under pressure to differentiate themselves throughout the year.
And then there are the persistent leadership murmurings, with every day another chance for the various caucus factions to contemplate the polls and their futures.
Luxon is banking on his ability to keep all those variables in check right up to voting day.
The other point to make is that 7 November does not leave much time at all for negotiations to form a government before Christmas.
The final results are not expected until 20 days after polling day, and in 2023 coalition talks dragged on for another 20 days beyond that.
A similar timetable this year would push the finish line to around 17 December which is well into the festive season.
And that's assuming the talks are as straightforward as last time. Current polling points to a razor-sharp contest and the potential for more complicated arrangements than last time.
Forget the despairing cartoon voter. Politicians and party staffers would do well now to cancel their Christmas plans.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
