Confused by this coalition caper? Well, join the parties

By VERNON SMALL deputy political editor

With only two days to the election, the political polls are leaving open more partnership permutations than there are parties asking for your vote.

Recent surveys have delivered a unanimous message: Helen Clark's dream of a Labour majority - more than 60 seats - has gone.

Beyond that, even party leaders and strategists are reluctant to predict a result.

The mix-and-match governments that could be put together on Sunday to get past the magic 61 votes are dizzying.

Thanks to a steady decline in Labour's vote in the past fortnight, and the fracturing of the centre-right, there are now up to four parties that could join in coalition, or at least support, a Labour Government.

Jim Anderton's Progressive Coalition will definitely be one. The Deputy Prime Minister is so close to Labour that commentators treat them as a single party in all but name.

Despite waging open warfare on the campaign trail, the Greens are the closest policy fit for Labour, although there is still no obvious way to resolve their stand-off over the GM moratorium.

But the list doesn't end there.

Peter Dunne's United Future has been smiled on by Labour since his surge in support in Monday's Herald-DigiPoll survey. He is now a real possibility as a partner. The Greens would not oppose a Labour-United Future Government, although they would abstain unless they could win specific policy concessions.

The Alliance is struggling to getback into Parliament, but it wouldbe willing to join a Labour-led coalition and could work withthe Greens and even Jim Anderton.

Anyone for a Labour-Jim Anderton's Progressive Coalition-United Future-Alliance-Green coalition Government?

For the record, Helen Clark has ruled out a coalition with Act, National and New Zealand First.

On the other side of the fence, Bill English will not join a National-Labour "grand coalition" to keep the minor parties out of the frame. But his door is open to all the other parties.

United Future could join either National or Labour, but Mr Dunne sees a Labour-led Government as more likely.

Act would go into coalition with National, and United Future could join the team. And after earlier ruling out New Zealand First, Act is now saying it would work with any other parties which back its core policies.

New Zealand First is refusing to be drawn on its preferences until the election results are known, but Winston Peters has rubbished talk of cobbling together a majority from the four centre-right parties to form a National-Act-United Future-New Zealand First Government.

Luckily, all we have to do is vote.

Full news coverage:
nzherald.co.nz/election

Election links:
The parties, policies, voting information, and more

Ask a politician:
Send us a question, on any topic, addressed to any party leader. We'll choose the best questions to put to the leaders, and publish the answers in our election coverage.