Campaign day 24: Peters in Government? Not with us, Clark insists

By VERNON SMALL

In an election where the main pre-occupation has been who will take Helen Clark's arm, she has at last put her best-dressed suitor out of his misery.

The Prime Minister yesterday categorically rejected the pin-striped populism of Winston Peters.

But if Labour is looking askance at him, his supporters are looking back with an equally jaundiced eye.

A Herald-DigiPoll survey, done over the past few days, shows almost half reject the idea of a coalition at all. Another 27 per cent favour a deal with National. Only 19.3 per cent want him to coalesce with Labour.

On one level that is no surprise. Mr Peters' three-fingered policy salute is essentially a conservative manifesto.

Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson has already given him two fingers back, making it clear that the industrial arm of the labour movement will have no truck with him.

There is a rich irony in all this.

In 1996, most Peters supporters wanted to go with Labour. He opted for National and paid the price in 1999, surviving in Tauranga by just 63 votes - roughly the population of a small cul-de-sac.

Now he is leaning towards Labour, just when his supporters are leaning National's way.

In truth, Mr Peters always draws more support from Opposition voters, whoever's in power, because by nature he is oppositional.

He has had two short stints in Government since 1984 but has fought every election in those 18 years from the Opposition benches.

Meanwhile, from the other end of the political spectrum, Bill English is keeping his options open, saying he will work with other "like-minded" parties, including NZ First.

The electoral mathematics mean he will need to get Act, United Future and Peters onside to have even a tissue-thin hope of forming a government. Yet Act has ruled out working in coalition with Peters.

So can Winston fix it?

It seems whichever side wins, he will not get the chance to do it from inside the tent. Just the sort of big party (and no doubt "big-city media") conspiracy he will milk to the max.

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