Election manager steps down

National Party general manager Stephen Joyce is relinquishing his role after what he describes as a "rollercoaster" campaign with a bittersweet result.

Mr Joyce ran what many commentators have labelled as the better of the two major parties' election campaigns, after only two years in the game.

The former radio network head was asked to do the job after heading a review of National's 2002 campaign and a strategic review of the party.

Mr Joyce said yesterday he had always been clear he was not in the job for the long haul, although he would help with strategic advice.

He downplayed suggestions he would be a National candidate in 2008, but would not rule it out.

"It's a hard one. I think they [MPs] do a hell of a job and give up a huge amount and getting as close to it as I have, I think it's something you have to think about very seriously.

"I got married in January this year and we want to have a family and things and I've just got other priorities at the moment."

Of the campaign he described the "bittersweet [election] result" as both the high and the low. The high was nearly doubling the vote. The low was the "not quite".

"One thing I did learn is that things go up and down hugely during the campaign. Someone said at the outset 'it's going to be a rollercoaster' and I think it was more of a rollercoaster than we've seen for a long, long time."

The party begun organising for the campaign as soon as Mr Joyce took over and he lists the early planning and president Judy Kirk's candidate training college among the reasons for the successes it achieved.

He's pleased National almost doubled its support in traditional National seats - particularly in Auckland and the provinces - and believes a significant increase in its support in West Auckland should be worrying for Labour.

And he believes National successfully pushed Labour into a September election, which he thinks it wanted to avoid.