When it comes to New Zealand politics there is an unwritten rule and that is to never rule out Winston Peters.
“The fact is you ain't seen nothing yet, you watch us climb from here,” Peters said.
Up on 4% in the latest 1News Verian Poll the NZ First leader could smell the green leather seats of Parliament as one by one more chairs were added to his latest public meeting.
“When you get over 500 people in the hall in a place like Pukekohe you should be grateful for it,” he said.
Those who turned up all agreed NZ First is back.
One woman said she was even taking a punt on it.
“Yes definitely and far ahead of the polls. I've got a bet on with my friends,” she said.
Another added: “Absolutely. I see them back in this term.”
One other person suggested the NZ First leader had played his cards well.
“I think the trends suggest that they will be and I think Winston Peters has timed his run very well,” he said.
Politics commentator Josie Pagani said there was certainly “a bit of mojo, a bit of passion” around the party.
“And the polls are catching up with that. So, they've been hovering around the 5% mark, they usually go up even more in the campaign so I'm thinking we'll see NZ First back in Parliament,” Pagani said.
“It looks like NZ First is back. I think partly that’s because you’re seeing Labour drop in the polls and you’re seeing some Labour voters wanting to reconfigure what might be a National/ACT government.”
Part of its strategy has seen NZ First campaigning on contentious issues.
On Sunday it targeted the overuse of the Māori language and announced a policy to make English 'official'.
“There are currently only two official languages, Māori and sign language, and apparently part of that sign-language for you goes like that.”
Winston Peters extending his middle finger when making the comment which drew much laughter from the crowd.
Last week the NZ First leader also flipped the bird over women's spaces by taking a dig at transgender women saying, “men shouldn’t be in women’s toilets”.
“I'm making it very clear, somebody that's got a male appendage should not be in a woman's bathroom or a girl's bathroom,” he said.
“Some people who feel like they don't really necessarily know what they think about all these issues but they feel like they can't say anything and I think the fact that Winston Peters is prepared to say something appeals to them,” Josie Pagani said.
By burning all bridges to Labour, NZ First is essentially backing blue.
But under the 1News Verian Poll the National Party wouldn't need Winston Peters, which is a dream scenario for David Seymour.
ACT took out a recent ad warning "fool me once fool me twice", implying Winston Peters and NZ First could not be trusted.
But Peters may yet have the last laugh as a growing number of voters head back to to NZ First.
“Let’s take back our country,” he told supporters, as his latest public meeting came to an end.
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