Winston Peters - master of the cliche

The Herald refers to it as "Vintage Peters"; Keeping Stock reckons that Winston Peters's cliche-laden campaign opening was pretty much old hat (if you'll pardon the cliche!!) - here's a sample:

Mr Peters said the global financial crisis had been caused by "greed, shonky business practices and merchant bankers".

Referring to Mr Key, he said: "One of them even wants to be Prime Minister of this country."

He called Mr Key a "raging hypocrite" for criticising NZ First for the donations controversy, when National received millions from secret trusts.

Mr Peters said Mr Key had a "puppet canary" - a reference to yellow-coated Act leader Rodney Hide, the most vocal critic. Mr Peters condemned the mooted National and Maori Party government.

"What a mix! Merchant bankers and Maori separatists. One lot will be trying to sell the country out from under us - while the other will be setting up a separate state."

And it's all the media's fault, of course:

On the donations controversy, where a $100,000 donation from billionaire Owen Glenn and $234,171 from the Spencer Trust went undeclared, Mr Peters said: "Well, we have made mistakes, all parties do."

He assured the 600-strong audience that "nobody has profited by one dollar and every cent ended up in the right place".

He said the media were "chardonnay drinking, pinky finger pointing latte drinkers".

Martin Kay writing in the Dom-Post had a similar view, as he reflected upon Peters feeling the heat:

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Mr Peters had another crack at the media.

"It's hot in here. And before one of you plonkers starts saying Winston's under pressure, let me just tell you: nothing like you'll be under in the next five weeks."

Keeping Stock merely observes that it was fitting that John Rowles sang "My Way" to the Peters faithful - an epitaph song if ever there was one!