If there is bandwagon big enough to jump on there’s one politician you can guarantee is already taking a run up to hop aboard.  So yup, Peter Dunne is lining up to have his riff on the ‘trust’ meme that Clark initiated with her election announcement.  Here he is claiming to the the mirror on the wall that he is most trustworthy of them all:

In government, over the years, both your parties have become arrogant and have lost touch with ordinary New Zealanders.

I guess you can’t lose touch Peter if the electorate never lets you have skin contact.

Actually, that bit about losing touch with ordinary NZers is eerily closely aligned to those two government’s entering governing arrangement’s with Peter Dunne. Is he their kiss of death? Let’s look at his history. Becomes Minister of Regional Development in 1990 – Labour voted out that year.  Become Minister of Internal Affairs and Inland Revenue in 1995, only for his United Party to be decimated in 1996 and National barely saved but emaciated by a deal between Bolger and Peters. Back again in 2005 in another deal where he becomes Minister of Revenue and neither Labour not United Future’s poll results have never really recovered since.

Of course this could be his plan.  After all before the 2005 election he was signalling to voters he really would prefer to work with National. Maybe his deal with Labour was actually a favour to National – to give Helen Clark the Peter Dunne kiss of electoral death.  It’s a horrid metaphor, I know.

But really.  Peter Dunne: Mr Trustworthy? Yup, you can trust him to change his political party affiliations to stay in power. You can trust him to be sidling up to whomever has power after the election and whispering sweet platitudes in their ear.  You can trust he’ll be trying those same policy-lite sweet platitudes about change, moderation and common sense on us at the first TV debate he’s allowed near.