ACT's David Seymour: 'I don’t really care what people think and I’m still quite successful'

The New Zealand politician has swapped twerking on TV for a more serious policy agenda. As the election looms, it seems to be working

He went viral in an awkward campaign video that featured him repeatedly saying hi" - with an emotionless, thousand-yard stare - at famous spots in his constituency. He twerked merrily on Dancing with the Stars wearing neon Lycra. He once proclaimed - with unintentional double entendre - in a news interview about national flags, that the French, for instance, love the coq."

That was the old David Seymour. The New Zealand lawmaker is the leader and sole member of parliament for ACT - a minor, libertarian party that has at times in its history been plagued by the inadvertent comedy of its eccentric members. The 37-year-old wears a sober suit and a quiet, serious demeanour when he meets the Guardian at his parliamentary office in Wellington.