On the Campaign, October 9: What you missed on the election campaign today

Will Christopher Luxon really pick a second election over working with Winston Peters? Photo / NZ Herald

We’ve entered the last week of the election campaign, but some politicians have already raised the prospect of a second election.

National has sparked this conversation by raising the possibility that they could be unable to reach a deal with NZ First after the election.

It’s not something Labour has ruled out, leader Chris Hipkins insisting his party won’t work with Winston Peters post-election, even if it means sending everyone back to the polls.

NZ Herald deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan told On the Campaign, the Herald’s daily election podcast, he believes National and Act will make it work with NZ First, but the polls do suggest a three-party coalition is the most likely solution at the moment.

“This is the closest we’ve been to having a second election in the MMP era.”

He said Christopher Luxon has been “exposed” for a “strategic error” in saying he would work with Peters post-election, which has since seen a rise in NZ First’s polling while National has stalled and Act has dropped.

“He is desperately trying to pour cold water on that and distancing himself from himself, and being as clear as he can that he does not want to work with Winston Peters

“His strategy is the only one he has open to him, which is to make sure that people know that he wants to go to the line with Act alone.”

In terms of what it means for the week ahead, Coughlan said Hipkins’ priority would be continuing to highlight that alternative government to turn around their “narrow path to victory”.

“He’s really trying to sell this ‘buyer beware’ message, which I think is a clever one, as there are significant amounts of concern around what that government could look like.”

Also in today’s episode, NZ Herald Wellington-based reporter Georgina Campbell details the electorate battle in Hutt South and Ōhāriu, which National is hoping to take from Labour.

Listen to the full episode of On the Campaign for the full rundown of today’s big election stories.

On the Tiles is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available evenings every weekday.