New Zealand leader fails to brush off 'Paintergate' fiasco

New Zealanders call it "Paintergate", and it has come back to haunt the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, as she campaigns to be returned to power in today's general election.

Ms Clark's admission that she passed off a painting by a local artist as her own work when she donated it to a charity auction has contributed to the slump in support for her ruling Labour Party since the election was called seven weeks ago.

Then Labour was so popular that it appeared on course to win an outright majority, a feat not achieved by any party since New Zealand adopted a complex form of proportional representation in 1996.

While Labour is still well ahead in the polls, at 44 per cent, it seems certain that it will be forced to forge an alliance with one of the myriad fringe parties in order to govern.

It was unfortunate timing for Ms Clark that the report of a police investigation into Paintergate was released during the election campaign. Police decided not to prosecute her.

Her opponents seized on the affair to attack Labour's central campaign pledge of honest and trustworthy government. More details have since trickled out, rattling the normally ice-cool Ms Clark, who stormed out of one television interview.

The painting – which her office commissioned for the auction – was bought by an Auckland businessman, Henry van Dijk, who has complained vigorously to the media, saying it is "like a forgery case".

One scandal would be bad enough, but the government has also had to defend itself over "Corngate" – allegations that it covered up the illegal release of a large crop of genetically modified sweetcorn. The claims turned out to be false, but some of the mud stuck.

Corngate provided plenty of fodder for the Green Party, which doubled its support after announcing it opposed all genetically modified crops.

That uncompromising stance prompted Ms Clark to rule out even an informal alliance with the Greens. Now, with the numbers stacked against Labour, she is having to think again.

The Greens would be difficult bedfellows, particularly as they have promised to bring down the government if it lifts a moratorium on genetic engineering next year. But the other options, from Labour's point of view, are worse.

Most unpalatable is the New Zealand First party of Winston Peters, a maverick part-Maori politician who has campaigned on a blatantly anti-immigration platform. Mr Peters argues that "immigrants are gatecrashers from an alien culture who push Maoris to the bottom of the heap".

Proportional representation has boosted the fortunes of numerous minor parties. The result, according to Ray Miller, a political scientist at Auckland University, is that elections in New Zealand are "like going to the supermarket, with a wide range of products to choose from and no great commitment to one party by voters".

While the small parties are all polling well at around 9 per cent, the conservative National Party – which was in government for most of the Nineties – is heading for its most humiliating result. Support for the Nationals, who have yet to regroup after losing power in 1999, has dropped to 21 per cent.

With the economy in reasonable health, policy issues have largely been absent from the debate. Colin James, a columnist with The New Zealand Herald and veteran political analyst, described the campaign as "truly bizarre". He said: "We have gone through the looking-glass into Wonderland. All we need now is the Mad Hatter."