"Stroppy" and "cantankerous" - just two of the words used to describe incoming Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters in the aftermath of the coalition agreement's historic unveiling on Friday morning.
The incoming Government comprises a never-before-seen three-way coalition between the National Party, ACT and New Zealand First, spearheaded by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and supported by the other two leaders, David Seymour and Peters respectively.
In another first for New Zealand, the new Government will also see the role of Deputy Prime Minister split between two MPs: Peters will hold the position for the first half of the term, while Seymour is slated to take over on May 31, 2025.
As well as holding the role of Deputy Prime Minister, Peters has also been named Minister of Foreign Affairs, while Seymour will look after the Regulation portfolio.
During his time on the podium, however, Peters seemed to struggle to transition out of "campaign mode" and into his new role as Deputy Prime Minister, according to Newshub's political panel - comprising Samantha Hayes, Ryan Bridge, political commentator Trish Sherson and The Hui broadcaster Julian Wilcox.
At the press conference and signing ceremony, Peters reprimanded reporters several times, became defensive when questioned, and was also caught pulling a variety of facial expressions while Seymour spoke, amid reports of tension between the two leaders.
Analysing Peters' performance, newsreaders Hayes and Bridge questioned if the 78-year-old's "cantankerous" relationship with the media - and seemingly tense alliance with Seymour - could risk the Government "falling apart".
"I don't know if it was National's first choice to have both in the coalition - I suspect their first choice was to... have partners on confidence and supply. I would say both NZ First and ACT wanted to be in the tent, right? But the price of being in the tent is you have to speak with one voice as a Government," Sherson weighed in.
"This was probably the last time we see this messy three-way on the stage - from here everyone has to swim in their own lane; the Prime Minister will do his job, Winston will do his job as Foreign Minister. All of the NZ First and ACT MPs as well are now part of the Government, so that shuts down a lot of the messiness."
Likening the coalition agreement to "kumbaya", Wilcox also mused over whether Peters' notoriously dismissive attitude towards the media could spell disaster on an international stage as Foreign Affairs Minister.
"We talk about the transition of David Seymour from the campaign to DPM and the way in which he [handled] that press conference - it's different. Winston hasn't changed: this will be a concern for us, and internationally particularly," Wilcox said.
"When you have a man who is going to be our representative, talking to media in that way and potentially talking to foreign media in that way - there will be some concerns there. How is this going to work in Cabinet?" he added, noting that Luxon appeared to "struggle" to maintain order over his two deputies at the stand-up.
Addressing the panel, Newshub political editor Jenna Lynch also offered her two cents, noting that the reported "animosity" between Peters and Seymour could be another cause for concern.
"The three of them gave us a taste of what the next three years are going to be like. Winston Peters hasn't quite got out of campaign mode; he gave the media quite a shellacking over what he thought was a miscalculation of the length of [negotiations]… He gave us a good rap over the knuckles," she said.
"They're going to have these weekly meetings to make sure everyone is on the same page. That all sounds well and good but listening to them in that press conference - and watching the facial [expressions] between Winston Peters and David Seymour when the other was talking - the animosity that has existed between those two is not all dead and gone just yet, by the looks of things.
"There are probably going to be a few teething issues as we head into this term of Government as these three feel each other out and test where the boundaries of where this coalition can go.
"It is historic... the splitting of the deputy role is something that has never been done before either. So, we're about to see a whole bunch of firsts in New Zealand - let's see how it goes," she concluded.
Bridge also pointed out that the camera operators did a great job of capturing Peters' range of expressions during the stand-up, including looking at his watch and slumping on the podium - usually when Seymour was speaking.
Watch the analysis above.
