By Iain Lygo, blow-in New Zealand political correspondent and former Greens candidate in Victoria

With only one day to go before the New Zealand election, things have turned decidedly weird in a campaign that could best
be described as nasty, uninspiring, and completely uninformative. Having been in the country for 24 hours, I had hoped
to hear some debate on the important issue, but this campaign has been non-stop
sleaze, rumours, trivia, and negativity.

When a man showed up to complain about Helen Clark’s
speeding motorcade dressed in nothing but a G string, you knew he wasn’t going
to be discussing policy with the PM. While the freak shows keep us laughing, this election
has one crucial factor that keeps everyone enthralled. It’s way too close to
call, and it won’t be over until long after the counting is done.

Neither the conservative National Party nor the Labour
government look like getting enough seats (61) to govern in their own
right,
and will have to form coalitions with the minor parties. Given this
reality, it just seems bizarre that both major parties have gone out
of their way to offend the minor parties as much as possible.
Nationals leader
Don Brash may well regret calling the NZ First leader “increasingly
irrelevant”
just days before the election.

The full story can be found on the website.