Winston Peters is in boisterous form on the campaign trail, reaffirming that NZ First will go it alone if elected and comparing the Act Party to the chaotic reality show family the Kardashians.
A Herald-DigiPoll survey shows his party is a decimal point away from Parliament and would therefore holdthe balance of power if elected, but yesterday he rejected a coalition with any party.
He refused the title of "kingmaker" and emphasised that NZ First would be an independent thorn in the side of the ruling government.
In an online conversation with Herald readers, Mr Peters said NZ First could not reconcile with parties which believed in selling assets, privatisation, and "separate rights" under foreshore and seabed law.
"We can't go into coalitions with parties that believe in that. But we believe we can give the people a voice from the Opposition benches and hold these governments to account, whoever they might be."
He believed New Zealand was heading down a "pathway of separatism", and that every political party had played a role in this.
NZ First has risen to 4.9 per cent of the party vote in polling, partly due to Mr Peters' debate performances and outspoken criticism of John Key's secret tea party comments.
Mr Peters has heard the teapot tape and hinted at what it contained, but confirmed that police had not contacted him by yesterday.
He defended his focus on the teapot fiasco on the campaign trail, saying that Mr Key's use of police resources on the media and his supposed insult to the elderly had to be addressed.
Mr Peters was reluctant to continue the debate over the teapot tape, but believed that the content would "undoubtedly" hurt National and Act's election chances if released.
He did, however, have time to slam the Act "circus", comparing it to the Kardashian family, one of whom divorced after a 72-day marriage.
"It's a circus about nothing. It is a bit like the Kardashians. They [Act] come and go, and in time nobody will ever remember what they did."
He added, tongue-in-cheek, that he was changing his favourite brand of tea to "Hones-tea".
The NZ First leader has spent a term on the parliamentary sidelines after he and his party lost out in the 2008 general election in the wake of an election spending scandal.
Asked what he would do if NZ First fell short of the 5 per cent threshold, he replied: "We don't plan to fail."
