Winston Peters has called the National Party a "leaderless rabble" during a pointed Parliamentary address today.
Speaking after National MP Nick Smith was suspended from the House for 24-hours by the Speaker for "grossly, disorderly conduct", Mr Peters said: "I have never seen such a leaderless rabble in this House for a long, long time, in fact I never have."
He then went on to say that Simon Bridges' approval rating began to go down after his "limo-tour" around the country last year.
He also referenced a Serious Fraud Office investigation into the way National obtains its funding and the furore surrounding an "emotional" staffer who removed a petition on the National Party website to stop New Zealand signing the UN migration pact.
The Deputy Prime Minister's harshest critique came over Mr Bridges being kicked out of the House yesterday for making a noise deemed inappropriate by Speaker Trevor Mallard.
"He got ejected from the House, last year when that happened his colleagues got up and resigned with him en masse.
"Yesterday I have never seen such a lonely, pathetic sight as a leader leaving and there wasn't so much as a murmur or a mutter or even a protest."
National's deputy leader Paula Bennett fired back at Mr Peters after his speech calling him "absolutely boring" and saying his jokes were "about 26 or 27-years-old."
Ms Bennett passionately defended her leader in the House.
She also claims the Government is forcing "dead rats" on the Green Party with the Waka Jumping Bill, capital gains tax and the cannabis referendum.
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