KEY POINTS:
The PR pundits were glued to their TVs when John Key announced National's tax package on Wednesday. Since then, everyone's had a go. "A dog of a package," said Helen Clark; "useless" said Act.
Has Key - who dismissed Clark as a "possum caught in headlights" - survived with his image intact?
Dr Claire Robinson, head of Massey University's Institute of Communication Design, said Key had presented the package well.
The Prime Minister had "missed a moment" by not responding immediately enough to Key herself - she fronted Cullen initially.
But Robinson said the leak of another taped conversation, involving Bill English, had undermined National's strategy of "no big surprises".
Later in the week Clark returned to her mantra of "trust", Robinson said. "It's starting to sound like a cracked record ... Labour's got to move towards a slightly fresher message in the next two weeks."
