Prime Minister-in-waiting Chris Luxon continues to keep Kiwis in the dark on the shape of the next New Zealand government, and likely coalition partner Winston Peters is also toeing the line.
In an awkward interregnum to the October 14 election, interim results are in but there appears to be an impasse on government formation.
Typically in New Zealand following elections, parties begin talks to build their government, discussing policies and positions behind closed doors that could lead to an agreement.
This time around, the numbers are so tight, parties say they are waiting for the finalisation of the count on November 3.
The electoral commission is re-counting votes and adding around 570,000 "special" votes into the mix, which are mainly out-of-electorate and overseas ballots.
National his waiting on those final results to confirm whether it will can work with only its preferred coalition partner, the libertarian ACT party, or if it will also need Winston Peters' New Zealand First party for a parliamentary majority.
"We've got three weeks until November 3 when the special votes come in ... those votes need to be counted and respected," Mr Luxon said in Auckland on Thursday.
ACT leader David Seymour says he is also happy to wait for that outcome, given it also campaigned on keeping Mr Peters out of government.
The two parties currently have 61 MPs of 121, and should be bolstered next month with another MP in a safe National by-election.
That would give National and ACT 62 seats of 122: a slender majority.
The game-changer is that the addition of special votes tend to favour the parties of the left, with National losing at least one MP in each of the last six elections.
If that trend holds, Mr Luxon would need to work with NZ First - whether through a coalition or a confidence deal - to be sure of passing legislation.
With so much uncertainly, the 53-year-old refused to entertain outcomes, or how backroom talks were going, or who he had met with, citing the need to "respect the negotiations".
He has also refused to say whether he has met with Mr Peters, the 78-year-old fixture of Kiwi politics.
Mr Peters made a whistle-stop visit to the capital this week but steadfastly refused to answer dozens of journalists' questions as he walked through Wellington Airport, or outside parliament.
"We're using the time to build relationships and also to progress the arrangements with respective parties," Mr Luxon said.
"We won't be talking about that because essentially we want to be able to do that in goodwill and good faith and good relationships to build strong and stable relationships."
Mr Luxon strayed from his "no comment" strategy to deny a report Mr Peters had been offered, and refused, the position of Speaker in the next parliament.
The prime minister-in-waiting also offered one commitment: he wouldn't make a last-ditch dash to France should the All Blacks reach the Rugby World Cup final.
