So much for "dirty politics". So much for Nicky Hager, Cameron Slater, "Rawshark", "Whaledump", Kim Dotcom, Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden, Julian Assange ... Has the country ever had an election so dominated, or distracted, by people not standing for Parliament, not citizens, not in the country or, in "Rawshark's" case, not even identified?
No matter. Last night the country spoke. It has given John Key a resounding endorsement.
For a Prime Minister to lead his party into a second term with an increased share of the vote is rare enough, to go into a third term with an even higher proportion than last time has not happened since 1925. If Key does not win another election he will stand with our most successful Prime Ministers. But on the strength of his victory last night he has to be given every chance of becoming only the third in our history, with Seddon and Holyoake, to win a fourth election.
Key has said he "doesn't rule it out", though after the unpleasantness and unfairness of much that was done to him in this campaign, it would be understandable if he had already privately decided he will not risk putting himself and his family through such an ordeal again.
He has been rewarded for his economic record rather than anything he proposes to do. National did not campaign this time on its intentions, unlike the last election when it was committed to an asset sales programme. If National has any plans for its third term it kept them to itself. Its aim is to maintain business confidence with a budget returning to surplus and limited increases in public spending. On that basis, Key believes, "we are on the cusp of something special".
