Prime Minister John Key is confident his cards will fall into place when confronted next year with the Pacific Islands Forum meeting, Rugby World Cup (RWC) and an election.New Zealand hosts the annual forum meeting in Auckland in September and it coincide
Prime Minister John Key is confident his cards will fall into place when confronted next year with the Pacific Islands Forum meeting, Rugby World Cup (RWC) and an election.
New Zealand hosts the annual forum meeting in Auckland in September and it coincides with the start of the RWC.
The election is due in November, meaning if National's ratings suffer a significant drop between now and then Mr Key's role as incoming forum chair could be short-lived, along with his prime ministership.
Setting a pre-September election could be a way of getting some certainty before the big events, but Mr Key would be suddenly out in the cold if that plan backfired.
He is not giving away election dates this early on, and said despite not wanting to take anything for granted that "it will be my expectation I will be in the chair" of the forum.
"We'll set a date for the election sometime next year and go to the polls on our record."
