Brash loses gentlemanly touch

After the furore over Don Brash's last television debate, the National Party leader could not afford to be gentlemanly towards Prime Minister Helen Clark on TVNZ's debate last night.

And after the sort of day he had yesterday trying to rescue his credibility over the Exclusive Brethren's $500,000 anti-Government campaign, he could not afford to look defeated.

On the first count he partially succeeded.

The former Reserve Bank Governor tackled Helen Clark wherever he could and forcefully on points of dispute such as her claim that National's tax package would put up interest rates.

"I got interest rates down - 15 and a half per cent in 1988 to seven and a half when I left," he said to Helen Clark, finishing the sentence with a flourishing "Madam!"

Oh well, once a gentleman ...

But no number of technical hits that he won on political points could overcome his self-inflicted handicap.

Even if he had slain Helen Clark, Jim Anderton and Jeanette Fitzsimons on tax cuts, he could not have won. This could never have been his night.

It was impossible to see Dr Brash as anything but tainted, in everything he said.

That may pass in the following days but a debilitating aura touched every comment.

On the issue of the Brethren, Dr Brash had clearly decided that the best form of defence was attack.

Progressive leader Mr Anderton wisecracked about funding from the Brethren - "if Don Brash got half a million dollars from the Exclusive Brethren for voting for the prostitution law reform, I'd expect to get a million for voting against it" - was greeted with overcooked indignation.

"That is an outrageous, outrageous allegation which is totally without foundation."

Just a joke, said Clark.

"It's not a funny joke."

This was not the occasion for Dr Brash to try to claim the moral high ground without hitting a rock slide.

Helen Clark was more measured than her last bossy-boots encounter with Dr Brash and she succeeded in what she needed to do - to look as though she was a competent leader.

The two stand-out contributions were from New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples.

Dr Sharples not only held his own among leaders with more than 100 years parliamentary experience between them, he succeeded in de-demonising the Maori Party with his warm style and carefully selected inclusive messages.

Mr Peters made almost every contribution count - Helen Clark's pledge card being funded by taxpayers, for example - and exhibited an energy that has been mysteriously lacking in many outings this campaign.

Mr Anderton and United Future leader Peter Dunne - with a strangely worm-like curl - would have done their causes no harm at all.

Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons drifted into a long-list zone where one's success is measured by the number of continuous slogans one can emit.

The biggest puzzle was Act leader Rodney Hide. He mentioned cigar bars so many times that perhaps his focus group work shows the cigar-vote in Epsom could swing it his way.