A private chat with former Labour leader Helen Clark could help put David Cunliffe over the line as he seeks the party's top job - but he still has to convince his caucus to choose him.
Mr Cunliffe and fellow MP David Shearer are vying for the leadership after Phil Goff announced his resignation, effective from December 13.
Mr Cunliffe has revealed he spoke to Ms Clark, who heads the United Nations Development Program in New York, in the past week.
He told TV3 the conversation "was certainly about politics and that issue (of leadership) did come up."
Mr Shearer is also close to Ms Clark and took over her Mt Albert seat when she left parliament after the 2008 election.
The endorsement of Ms Clark, who led Labour to three election victories, would be hard for the party's caucus to ignore.
But Mr Cunliffe said he believed a clean break from the Clark and Goff years was needed to reinvigorate Labour.
"I would definitely say that the program that I'm offering would be the most thorough program of change at all levels in the party," he says.
Mr Shearer says he'll be spending his Christmas break "talking over barbecues, having a few beers and actually listening to what people said" about what needs to change in Labour.
"Where did we go wrong, what did we do, why aren't we connecting?"
If he doesn't get the leadership, Mr Shearer has been promised a spot on his rival's front bench - but if he wins, there's no guarantee Mr Cunliffe will keep his prized finance role.
"I've made it pretty clear to everybody that I've met that there is no deals over jobs ... we're about renewal, and then we sit down and we work out what the best team is," Mr Shearer said.
Grant Robertson is expected to stand as Mr Shearer's deputy, while Maori MP Nanaia Mahuta is running on Mr Cunliffe's ticket.
NZN