1st cab off the rank means nothing

Stuff reports:

Labour is to treat the Greens as “first cab off the rank” for post election talks in a signal it is firming up its plans to work in coalition with its allied party.

No surprise, but it is meaningless unless Labour and Greens can get 61 seats between them. If Labour poll around 40% this means something, but at 26% it means almost nothing.

But would he be prepared to leave the Greens out of government if Winston Peters insisted and Labour needed NZ First to govern?

“I think that is unlikely.”

Far from unlikely, it is highly likely. Winston has made this clear many many times. In fact I understand he has said he won’t even support Green MPs becoming Under-Secretaries.