Peters clarifies party's post-election position

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters expanded on his party's post-election position yesterday after the Herald reported there were divergent views about it within the party.

The single party with the largest number of votes after the election would have the right to form the Government, not a bloc of parties, Mr Peters said.

If necessary, NZ First would give confidence and supply to that party.

But he went further and suggested that support was conditional on the major party not teaming up in formal coalition with either the Greens, in the case of Labour, or Act in the case of National.

"When I said at a public meeting in Rotorua last Wednesday that the party with the most votes is entitled to form a Government without needing the extremists of the far left or right, that explicitly ruled out a pre-determined political power bloc and ensured that that party [the largest] could govern with stability over three years," Mr Peters said.

To a Grey Power meeting in Tauranga he said: "We are not for allowing an extremist wing of the left or the far right to run this country. We are not for [Greens co-leader] Rod Donald becoming Minister of Energy or [Act leader] Rodney Hide Minister of Finance.

"In the interests of stability and not repeating the Italian history, we will back to be the Government whoever the people choose as the party with the most votes."

What has not been in dispute is that NZ First will not enter a formal coalition with any party, and that between votes of confidence and supply, it would assess other votes issue by issue.

As the Herald has sought to understand NZ First's position, it has become clear there are divergent views on the party's post-election position, with some believing that a bloc of parties - not a party - with the most votes would get the nod from NZ First.

But Mr Peters said the party's caucus and board were clear in its direction.

Mr Peters refused on Sunday to answer questions about the position and accused Herald writers of being "mischievously wrong".

Then he said: "But, above all, we are going to go on doing what we have always done. We are going to keep them honest."