KEY POINTS:
Today is "W-Day" for NZ First. What will it do with its leader, Winston Peters?
The party could divorce him. Mr Peters could ditch them. They might try to keep things going by asking him to cohabit a little differently.
Or they might just box on with the
troubled marriage, turning a blind eye to his misdemeanours and hoping for the good old days again.
The party faithful will meet in Auckland today to plot their future after the ousting at the election.
NZ First's first problem is that nobody knows for sure if Mr Peters will even turn up, let alone what he is thinking about the future. NZ First can't know where it is going if it doesn't know where he's going.
The chances of the party divorcing him are of course slim - at this early stage at least. They are aware they basically have no chance without him.
Maybe Mr Peters does not want to stay on anyway. He is 63 now, will be 66 at the next election, probably has a healthy superannuation and has recently moved to Auckland and into a new home in St Marys Bay with partner Jan Trotman.
Now out of Parliament, he may not be as addicted to politics as people say he is. He might just walk away.
From the party, there have been some public rumblings of discontent.
Party president George Groombridge has suggested a "co-leader" - some younger blood like Ron Mark alongside the patriarch.
Deputy leader Peter Brown has criticised Mr Peters' performance in the lead-up to the election, and called the party's campaign a disaster. Mr Brown wants no Spencer Trust-type surprises, indicating more controls on Mr Peters.
While stating the obvious and not intended as outright attacks, the comments of both men will enrage Mr Peters.
It is impossible to imagine Mr Peters sharing the leadership of the party he created. Equally, it is impossible to see him bowing to controls or the admission of some guilt about the party's failure that would go along with it.
The best they can hope for is Mr Peters giving a clear statement of what he is going to do. The reality is they may have to put up with him, with a leader who is not leading them anywhere.
Mr Peters will have little time for the other organisational issues the party faces. It will be a mundane and amateurish bloodbath.
NZ First, the party he created, may in fact be a burden to him. As it thrashes and dies over the next year or two, he may look for an opportunity now or later to drop the party.
He would be free to pounce on an opportunity, the cause celebre, the crisis we don't know about yet that needs a campaigner on a white horse.
As everyone says, with Mr Peters, you can't rule anything out.
