Sex scandal a killer for Kiwi opposition

AAP-March,28-Reports of a naked man and an alleged sex assault are not helping New Zealand's struggling opposition party's chances of winning the upcoming election.
It's election year across the ditch but the conservative National Party, in power since 2008, is proving tough to beat thanks to the sky-high popularity of leader John Key, further boosted after the Christchurch earthquake.
Adding to the Labour Party's woes are fresh allegations against one of its star performers, chief whip Darren Hughes, who resigned from parliament last week amid allegations of a sexual incident.
The charges against the 32-year-old relate to an 18-year-old male student and while few details have yet been made public, it's understood to involve a naked man who was found on the street near Mr Hughes' Wellington home.
While the affair has been catastrophic for Mr Hughes, a young rising star in party ranks, Labour itself threatens to be the bigger casualty.
The 32-year-old politician was a close friend of leader Phil Goff and deputy leader Annette King, with whom he was boarding when the incident happened.
The affair has created a huge headache for Mr Goff, who revealed he'd known about it for two weeks before it was leaked to the media.
As questions continue to swirl about the leader's judgment and speculation of a challenge among the ranks grows, it has become clear that there's more than a leadership stoush at stake.
The party is losing favour with voters, with new poll results released on Monday showing Labour is set to win just 31.4 per cent of votes ahead of the November 26 election, down from 40 per cent a few months ago.
The National Party would not even need a coalition partner to govern, the iPredict snapshot said.
Labour has had plenty of strong campaigning points - a record budget deficit, high unemployment, spending cuts and a faltering economy - but none seem to have gained any traction with the public.
It also failed to connect with voters over the deadly February 22 earthquake in Christchurch, which shored up yet more support for the government.
Not helping the party's case is Mr Key's meteoric popularity.
Earlier this month, a top New Zealand adman predicted National would romp home in the election because voters loved Mr Key's "dopey" ways.
The PM has cavorted with drag queens at the country's Big Gay Out, gyrated his hips for Miss South Pacific in Niue and "minced" down the catwalk in the new Rugby World Cup 2011 volunteer uniform.
The local media have mocked him for his silly ways but New Zealanders like it and look set to show him on election day.