Incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon doesn't think he'll get a Government formed in time to jet to Rarotonga for the Pacific Islands Forum next week - revealing New Zealand will send Gerry Brownlee and Carmel Sepuloni in his place.
He refused to commit to a deadline for forming a Government on the eve of the final vote count - simply saying it'll be done as fast as possible.
Luxon rocked up to AUT Millennium on Thursday with a forewarning of his own foibles.
"You would've been told, Luxon can talk so you've gotta keep him focused," Luxon said.
Talking's all he's been able to do and all he'll be doing for the foreseeable as he tries to form a Government.
He was taking a break from the talk treadmill though, checking in on our highest-performing athletes as he kills time while the Electoral Commission counts the votes, checking them twice.
"The way we count votes is thorough and careful so everyone can trust the results," the commission says.
That's before the big orange man gifts us the final election result and the long wait in limbo land comes to an end.
"Does it really need to take three weeks to count the special votes if we're actually working 24/7," Luxon asked.
For three weeks he has been "relationship building", holding secret talks in Auckland hotels, waiting for Friday's final results to be released before the real negotiating can begin.
"It's incredibly frustrating for everybody. It's like hurry up and wait."
Frustrated with the wait, but the incoming Prime Minister is refusing to commit to a deadline to form a Government.
"I can't give you a date because obviously we are waiting for the vote to be counted," he said.
The only clue lies in his travel plans - the Pacific Islands Forum is being hosted in Rarotonga next week, a must in the prime ministerial diary.
"I think the reality is with the final results coming through only tomorrow, I won't be able to leave on Wednesday morning, because my priority is to form a Government."
He said National's foreign affairs spokesperson Brownlee will head along with deputy Prime Minister Sepuloni.
One of Luxon's partners is more optimistic though.
"A deal could be done in a matter of days," said ACT leader David Seymour.
But first they need to get everyone on board with each other's deals.
"It will rely on cooperation between three parties. We have been open and reached out to all parties, we've had different results in terms of the negotiations that we've done so far but we think it's possible to get a deal next week."
For that - they all need to get in a room.
