KEY POINTS:
Anyone still wondering just how negative Labour is willing to be in this election got their answer yesterday. Judging by the Prime Minister's attempt to cover John Key's hands with the blood of New Zealand troops who never went to Iraq, it's "extremely negative".
Helen Clark is asserting that 60 New Zealand military personnel would have returned home in body bags had John Key been in a position to commit troops to the American-led invasion in 2003 and subsequent occupation force in Iraq.
Her remarks - made at a Grey Power meeting in Lower Hutt - are part of Labour's strategy to define the election in terms of whether Key and National can be trusted.
They followed Michael Cullen exploiting the forced fire sale of investment bank Merrill Lynch, for whom Key once worked, as reason not to trust management of the economy to short-term money "gamblers".
National described Clark's attack as "hysterical and desperate" and suggested the Prime Minister should concentrate on issues that really matter.
The jury is out on whether Labour's relentless focus on Key and his trustworthiness will work to Labour's advantage or backfire. Cullen was drawing a long bow in linking the failure of Merrill Lynch to Key's economic management credentials.
But Clark is on stronger ground on Iraq, because she is playing to national pride. She got sustained applause at the Grey Power meeting when she said she was proud that New Zealand had not taken part in the invasion of Iraq.
The Prime Minister's "back of an envelope"' calculation of 60 deaths is based on fatalities of American personnel in Iraq passing the 4000 mark and adjusted for population. Her maths were slightly astray. The actual figure - later corrected by the Prime Minister's office - is closer to 55 than 60.
Ignoring that error, the calculation is also somewhat at odds with the number of Australian deaths in Iraq - just two personnel. One of those shot himself while cleaning his gun. The other was killed when a British Air Force Hercules transport aircraft crashed during a flight inside Iraq.
Clark says Australia's contribution to Iraq "was not for the most part regular infantry". Australia contributed some 2000 personnel to the American-led "Coalition of the Willing", including some 500 special forces troops. "Operation Catalyst" currently comprises approximately 1000 Australian Defence Force personnel.
Had New Zealand taken part in the invasion, its military presence would have been far more token and symbolic.
Labour has long criticised Key for an apparent flip-flop on Iraq. However, there is a big difference between speaking as a newly-elected back-bencher and taking decisions as leader.
In 2003, National stopped short of saying whether it would commit troops. Such subtleties get lost in an election campaign, however. National may well complain about Labour's tactics and hope they prove a turnoff for voters. But Labour, in a tight spot, knows going negative can pay big dividends.
