Helengrad
Helengrad
Neologism in New Zealand politics
Helengrad was a satirical or pejorative neologism in New Zealand politics applied to New Zealand's capital city Wellington during the term of the Fifth Labour Government led by Helen Clark. The term was used by the Labour party's opponents and critics, who sometimes extended it to describe the New Zealand of the time as a whole.
In January 2008, the term 'Helengrad', "a noun used to describe the iron grip of New Zealand's prime minister over Wellington", was reported as having made Australia's Macquarie online dictionary among 85 other new words.[1]