THREE MORE YEARS: John Key and the National Party survived everything thrown at them during the election campaign to almost garner enough support to govern alone.

So the Dirty Politics practitioners were spot-on. Nasty tactics do favour the Right.

In the grubbiest, most eye-bulgingly intense election campaign in living memory, National romped home.

The other big story of the past few weeks, how the coalitions would shake down, has come to nought. Late last night, National almost had the numbers to govern alone.

It came down to a face-off between John Key and Winston Peters, the wiliest operators in the political landscape.

Both played high-stakes games. NZ First took full advantage of National's woes. Key called Peters' bluff - judging he wouldn't force the country back to the polls. At the same time he played the crazy card with his supporters, telling them to give National two ticks or face dealing with Peters and Colin Craig post-election.

Craig quickly conceded defeat. Gloomy predictions that Peters would be the kingmaker, holding the country to ransom, are unlikely to come to pass. Key may now not need him to make up the numbers. But all the signals are that he may still forge a relationship similar to the National-Maori Party deal.

Peters, at 69, requires a legacy in what is likely to be his last hurrah. He needed something tangible to show for three decades in Parliament, other than a reputation as a trouble-maker and a discount card for pensioners.

Last night was a stonking result for NZ First. It was down to Peters' canny and energetic campaigning. But the party's relevance - and whether it returns to shouting from the Opposition benches - will be at Key's grace and favour. And Peters will hate that.

The Greens' remarkable rise stalled last night. They confidently aimed for a 15 per cent party vote share. Early on in the count, they were well shy of that and may even lose an MP.

But the biggest losers were Hone Harawira and Kim Dot-gone. Their cynical alliance backfired.

Dirty Politics didn't hurt National - in fact, all the evidence points to a lift. But it did harm Labour.

Watching from the sidelines last night was David Cunliffe - as he was throughout the whole campaign. Labour suffered a rout. Cunliffe will have questions to answer about his performance, although he did lift his game in the final week. He'll ask for the party's blessing to stay on as leader - re-opening fresh wounds within the party. The victories of Kelvin Davis in Te Tai Tokerau and Stuart Nash in Napier have opened the door for Labour's next generation, but not in this contest.

If you thought this election was defined by dirty politics, just wait until Labour votes again on their leadership.