John MacDonald: Luxon's first rodeo with Winston riding shotgun

Can you imagine what it’s like on the National Party bus today after those three poll results that came out in the last 24 hours?

All three of them - the 1News Kantar poll, the Newshub poll, and the Guardian poll - have Winston Peters being the coalition kingmaker.

They’ve got NZ First somewhere between 6 percent and 8.2 percent. Anything over 5 percent, and Winston, Shane and the rest of the crew are back in Parliament.

In one poll, 9 percent are undecided. In another, as many as 12 percent don’t know yet who they’re going to vote for.

But I think it’s fairly safe to assume that, come Saturday night, Christopher Luxon will be reaching for the phone and “making the call”.

He is saying, of course, that he doesn't regret coming out and announcing that he will go into coalition with NZ First if it means getting rid of the current government.

But there seems to be no shortage of people saying that, as soon as he did that, he opened the door for Winston Peters because people then realised that a vote for NZ First might actually be worth it.

And that’s what I think too. I think Winston Peters and NZ First would be going nowhere fast if that hadn’t happened.

But then, in my defence, I didn’t know at the time that Christopher Luxon was going to put the welcome mat out.

Luxon himself probably didn’t know that, either. Which is why I would love to be on the National Party bus today.

Because, can’t you imagine it: Chris Bishop - he’ll be sitting down the back absolutely stewing. Because I reckon, even though he’s campaign manager, he wouldn’t have been up for the big video announcement from Luxon welcoming Winston into the tent.

Christopher Luxon, though, he’ll be up at the front of the bus, probably chatting with the driver about potholes and road cones.

Because, that’s the thing I’ve noticed from my dealings with Christopher Luxon, is when you meet him, he clicks into your world.

So he’ll be up front chatting to the driver. Chris Bishop will be parked in the back row. And old Gerry - Gerry Brownlee - he’ll be going up and down the aisle trying to keep the peace.

Because he's seen it all before, hasn’t he? There’s not much that gets him panicking. Not even the prospect of sitting around the Cabinet table with Winston Peters.

And maybe Gerry’s right. Maybe there is no reason to panic.

Maybe, it would be a good thing having Winston Peters in cahoots with National and ACT.

How many times have you heard Winston Peters say this campaign that he’s the one to bring experience into Cabinet. And I tell you what, you can’t argue with him on that front.

He’s been Deputy Prime Minister. Treasurer. Foreign Minister. He’s been around. For yonks.

Unlike some of the main players in National and ACT. By my count, only six of National’s Top 20 have been in Cabinet before. And, as we know, Christopher Luxon and David Seymour have never been in Cabinet.

So maybe Winston Peters is exactly what Christopher Luxon’s government would need to succeed.

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