Some statistics from the General Election

Voter turnout on Saturday was 78·69 per cent, according to the Chief Electoral Officer. Unlike Australia, voting is not compulsory, and the figure is roughly what we have had in the past.
   Apparently, there are still 240,000 special votes to be counted this week, but as I noted in an earlier post, this should not make any real difference.
   It appears both Helen Clark and Dr Michael Cullen have stepped down from their leadership positions in Labour, not just Helen Clark as I learned earlier. Both will remain in Parliament.
   John Campbell’s TV interview with John Key tonight was an easy walk in the park, with some specifics, including Mr Key’s assertion (for the time being) that he will not move to the far right despite traditionally teaming up with ACT. That could mean, if I understand correctly, no deals with the Architect of Doom, Sir Roger Douglas.
   But National has a tendency to have hidden agenda as the lead-up to the campaign has shown.
   Polls did show that five per cent more New Zealanders trusted Helen Clark (48·4 per cent) to John Key (43·6), just as more trusted John Major than Tony Blair in the UK in 1997.
   But elections, it seems, are not based on trustworthiness, and that is always a shame.