Hermetically sealed or not?

Helen Clark seems to spend most of her time whining abotu John Key. First she suggested he shouts at his wife and kids. Then she said he was out of control and had a temper tantrum. Then she said his campaign was hermetically sealed.

Well the Herald has compared schedules:

At the end of the first week Helen Clark said Mr Key’s campaign was “hermetically sealed” and he was staying out of reach of the public, while she and Labour were “out there taking the risks”.

Yesterday, she said he was having public meetings “stacked with National Party supporters”.

The Weekend Herald ran a rule over the leaders’ schedules and went on the road to ascertain whether Helen Clark was right – and to assess whether “public” encounters are genuine public meetings or restricted to supporters in a show for television cameras.

The results show Mr Key has increased his number of genuine public meetings since that first week. But his schedule in the first week was no less public than hers in terms of “risking” running into unfriendly voters.

Mr Key is also outstripping the PM on public walkabouts and has tended to enter enemy territory more than Helen Clark.

He did a 90-minute public walkabout in the streets of Papatoetoe – Labour’s territory – to promote his law and order policy and also visited a decile one school near Gisborne for education policy.

But Clark just does not give up:

Helen Clark’s claim that National stacked a public meeting attended by more than 600 people in Pukekohe with its supporters is rejected by the local MP Paul Hutchison.

He said the meeting was advertised widely, including in the local paper and on billboards and posters and the ads said all were welcome.

She really seems to be in denial.