National Party leader John Key pulled out of a scheduled walkabout at a Tauranga shopping centre today to avoid the possibility of running into a gate-crashing Winston Peters.
Mr Key was to have accompanied National candidate Simon Bridges to the Greerton shops, but was warned the New Zealand First leader was nearby.
"We didn't want to engage in a Winston Peters' sideshow," Mr Key told reporters.
"It would have been part of the ongoing Winston Peters' soap operetta, I'm not interested in being part of his version of Shortland Street."
Mr Key has ruled out working with Mr Peters after the election and their relationship has been tense.
After skipping the walkabout, Mr Key reaffirmed his decision not to have anything to do with NZ First post-election.
"I have made my position crystal clear - I won't be forming a government with him."
Mr Key's staff told reporters they were not interested in giving Mr Peters a photo opportunity.
Mr Peters, who held the Tauranga seat until ousted by National in 2005, is hoping to get it back on Saturday.
But a poll released on Sunday showed he was far behind National's candidate Simon Bridges, a young crown prosecutor.
If Mr Peters fails to win Tauranga, NZ First could be wiped out because it is polling below the 5 percent of the party vote it would need, without an electorate seat, to get MPs into Parliament.
