National's Chris Luxon has today ruled out working with Te Pāti Māori in any post-election deal.
Luxon says it's clear that National and Te Pāti Māori have fundamentally different views on too many issues.
ZB's senior political correspondent Barry Soper says National should have been more assertive early on when it came to Te Pāti Māori.
"I don't know why they waited until now, but nevertheless Chris Luxon says what we already all know- that the bridge between National and the Māori Party is simply too wide to close."
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