By Andrew McMartin
Prime Minister John Key has accepted that an online video of his effigy being burned is not linked to the Internet Mana Party.
Mr Key initially linked the footage to the fledgling party after being played the video during a breakfast television interview yesterday.
His comments came after the Internet Party released a video from a rally at which the crowd was encouraged to chant "f*** John Key".
Speaking on Firstline this morning Mr Key said he was mistaken in his claims, saying he initially thought the two videos were linked due to their similarities.
"I hadn't seen the [video] before, and the basic point was they had the same chant – it looked like a pretty similar picture."
"If it's not theirs then I accept it's not theirs."
Political tension has reached new heights ahead of the election, with accusations of racism levelled at Act Party leader Jamie Whyte and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. Mr Key has also come under fire for referring to Kim Dotcom as Internet Party leader Laila Harre's "sugar daddy".
Mr Key says the controversy is a sign some parties are "fighting for headlines and airtime".
"And so they pull stunts and they say things and they do things to attract headlines."
And while Ms Harre has called on the Prime Minister to apologise for his "sugar daddy" comments, Mr Key says he stands by his words.
"I actually believe that was an accurate reflection and still do."
He says New Zealanders are more interested in the "issues that matter".
"You've got some of these parties roaming around one or two percent – they’re fighting for headlines."
Last night both Mr Key and Ms Harre spoke at a meeting of candidates for the Helensville seat, northwest of Auckland.
However despite predictions for fireworks at the meeting, Mr Key described it as a "pretty tame affair".
3 News
source: newshub archive
