Simon Bridges believes it's no certainty that the incoming Government will be made up of three parties despite the election results suggesting that's what's required.
The final election results were revealed on Friday, showing National and ACT can't govern alone. Together, those two parties have just 59 seats, when they need 62 to form a government. That means the two parties will need New Zealand First to govern.
The former National Party leader, now Auckland Business Chamber chief executive, told AM on Monday while the most likely outcome is a three-party coalition, he believes there is a "considerable chance" of a two-party government.
"The reasons for that are quite clear for those smaller parties. If you're ACT, if you don't get the real change you want, you sit it out," he said.
"If you're New Zealand First, you're not getting the responsibility you feel you deserve, you sit it out."
Bridges added people are also forgetting smaller parties tend to struggle at the next election after they've been in power.
"Remember the history of small parties, which is that they get decimated at the election after they've gone into government," he told AM.
"So I don't know that people are quite factoring that in. There are valid reasons for minor parties to play quite a hard game if you like."
It comes after National Party leader and incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was questioned by AM co-host Ryan Bridge if it's a "failure" that he can't say when a joint meeting with David Seymour and Winston Peters will take place.
Election day was 23 days ago and special votes were released on Friday afternoon but still, Luxon couldn't confirm on AM on Monday morning when National, ACT and NZ First will meet together.
Bridges told AM he believes coalition negotiations will drag on until late next week.
"I personally think we're looking well into next week, potentially the end, and I don't think that's a bad thing," he said.
"I think the reality of it is, look, it's a complicated thing trying to get three parties together to sing Kumbaya around the fire-side at Cabinet... I don't want to be a smart alec, but I've been thinking it's going to take a while and it just is what it is. If you want an enduring government, it's better to kind of make the recipe well I suppose."
Bridges was joined by Nanogirl and business owner Michelle Dickinson as part of AM's daily panel who said the longer the negotiations go on for, the more frustrating it is for the public.
"I think what is frustrating for the public is we voted, it's done," she said.
"We just want to get on [and] as a business owner, I want to know which politician I need to be talking to, what relationships I need to be building and right now, as a business owner, we're just sitting here going, 'Well, come on, get on'. We have to go to work every day, we have to help build the economy, help us do that."
But Bridges joked maybe New Zealand's economy does better when there is a caretaker government.
"Maybe everything's just better. We don't have Winston [Peters] and [David] Seymour and Luxon and [Nicola] Willis arguing and I'm personally fine with that," he said.
"I feel like this uncertainty is liberating."
Watch the full interview with Simon Bridges and Michelle Dickinson in the video above.
