Is the party up for Winston Peters' political outfit New Zealand First?
On the evidence of Sunday's rally in Whangarei on Sunday, Jacinda Ardern's government coalition partner might be running out of steam.
Ahead of September 19's election, New Zealand First is styling itself as a champion of the regions, of the downtrodden, and against political correctness.
But Kiwis yet aren't buying it - and Mr Peters, the deputy prime minister, is running out of time.
Mr Peters, 75, himself was missing from the rally, holed up at home recovering from out-of-the-blue surgery last week.
That's less than ideal, fewer than eight weeks out from the start of voting.
Parties need to hit a five per cent threshold in New Zealand to enter parliament, and NZ First has dipped to record lows in recent polls; at 1.8 and 2.7 per cent in the most recent major public surveys.
That's forced a strategic pivot to the party's heartland in the north, in the hope of winning a seat outright and surviving.
Mr Peters has entrusted Shane Jones, a Labor defector, with that task; running in Northland with the goal of unseating sitting National MP Matt King.
Mr Jones, the self-styled 'Force from the North', known as the best orator in parliament, took to the stage dancing to the Doobie Brothers before giving a typically sharp address.
"Think of that ballot paper akin to a ticket to board the New Zealand First express, parliament-bound," he boomed to an auditorium with around 300 supporters.
The diehards in the audience, made up of candidates, supporters and stickybeaks shared that enthusiasm.
The most common belief is that New Zealand First will gain a last-minute surge of support if Ms Ardern's Labour continues to ride high in the polls.
Their party, as a coalition partner to Labour and the Greens, will be seen as a balancing force to the left-leaning parties, as a "handbrake" on excesses.
"We always come good on election day", one support told AAP, adding "people will come round to us when they realise the Nats can't win".
"A Labour-Greens government would be a scary prospect," another said.
Tracey Martin, a NZ First MP who has acted as a key negotiator in government, agreed.
"People should be scared of a Labour-Green government," she said.
"New Zealand First has had to stay at the table and talk some logical, practical moderation to some of the ideas put out by those parties in the last three years.
"We're going to campaign on our policies ... but the reality is people should be concerned."
If there's one mantra in New Zealand politics, it's not to write Mr Peters off.
The septuagenarian is a wily campaigner, likely to create court controversy and play to base political instincts in the coming weeks.
Mr Jones hinted at this, railing against "carbon neutrality and climate justice", "the ideology of mass immigration" and foreign workers.
They will also be able to point at mammoth investment, at Mr Jones' counting roughly half a billion dollars - in Northland.
"There's been a surge of support for New Zealand First in the north," Mr Jones claimed.
"We always poll low and people turn out on the day. We're absolutely confident."
Australian Associated Press
