With just days to go before voting closes, political discourse has taken a bizarre turn, writes Ben Thomas.

A humiliating hour in Ponsonby doesn't mean National is imploding, just that it's losing.

All it took was a laser focus on gettable centre-right voters, writes Ben Thomas.

The Māori Party's time in government with National proves the impact of minor parties isn't always measurable by the number of bills they pass or the amount of funding they secure, but also its impact on the political tone.

Despite the cartoonish 'Crusher' label, the National leader has always been a policy wonk.