Foreign Minister Winston Peters reacted angrily yesterday to suggestions that his New Zealand First party might do an electoral deal with Labour before next year's election.
If New Zealand First gets less than 5 per cent in the party vote - as it has consistently been doing in
polls - it would need a candidate to win an electorate seat to survive.
The possibility of an electoral accommodation was raised in the Transtasman newsletter on Friday, then fuelled the next day by Labour Party president Mike Williams on TV One's Agenda show.
Mr Williams dismissed a deal being done for Mr Peters to stand in Auckland but did not rule one out somewhere else. "This is in the area of tactics rather than strategy and these are decisions that are made closer to the election," he said.
Mr Peters, who has faced criticism at every MMP election for not stating a preference for a big-party partner before an election, was angry at the suggestion NZ First might now do so.
"This party has never predicated its existence on that sort of basis. We determine what happens in New Zealand First."
National leader John Key said his party had no "master plan" for electoral accommodations - though he did not rule them out. But he did not think Mr Peters would enter one.
"Winston is a man of his word and he has made the case that he will start negotiations in good faith with the political party that has the biggest party vote. If he was to do a deal, that would run counter to that."
Mr Key said the public would not necessarily buy into any deals done between parties.
