New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key Smiles After the General Election in Auckland.
New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key smiles after the general election in Auckland November 26, 2011. Reuters/Stringer

Kim Dotcom's much hyped event "The Moment of Truth" did not help him politically even though it gave some embarrassment to the John Key Government with allegations of mass snooping. The drawback was that the much trumpeted big disclosure that Dotcom had been promising to expose the PM, never actually came out in what was to be a "moment of truth."

Kim had been playing victim and promised to expose Prime Minister Key with evidence that the police raid on him was a conspiracy hatched at the highest level. Dotcom had been talking about an e-mail to show that Mr. John Key was lying. Dotcom's "proof" was that the email purportedly written by Warner Brothers showed the Prime Minister trying to trap Dotcom, reported 3 News.

Email Disowned

In a dramatic fashion, Warners called the email fake and Dotcom bailed himself out. But politically the calculations of Dotcom are under strain. The poll surveys are showing that his alliance partner Mana Party leader Hone Harawira is at a slender lead in Te Tai Tokerau with 38 per cent against Labour's Kelvin Davis at 37 per cent. If Davis wins, the hope of Internet Mana to Parliament will be dashed.

It turned out that what Kim Dotcom planned and what he got was different. The revelations that hit Mr. Key were not the stuff that Dotcom had promised. With Dotcom back tracking from his charge about Mr. Key the PM got the opportunity to paint himself as an object of Dotcom's malicious propaganda. For Snowden and friends, the concern was to show that New Zealanders are facing mass spying and the Prime Minister was shielding facts.

Branding Exercise

Vocativ in its analysis noted that Kim's event helped him in getting the branding to tilt the younger and politically minded voters. But the pity "Moment of Truth" event may not sway the elections for him. Kim's event succeeded in keeping Mr. Key in a state of anxiety, with current disclosures made to appear like teasers or redacted screenshots. It said Dotcom has done well as a political newbie, but the main goal of getting Prime Minister John Key voted out of office remains too far.