He will be meeting ACT leader Rodney Hide and United Future leader and the party's sole MP Peter Dunne this afternoon.
Mr Hide is talking tough about what he wants in order to support National -- he has said a three strikes sentencing policy, cutting government spending and dumping the emissions trading schemes will be on the table because ACT supporters wanted them. Mr Key has ruled out ACT MP Roger Douglas being a minister but Mr Hide says that issue is not dead.
Mr Key said Mr Hide would try get the best result for his party.
"There will always be people negotiating and trying to use their strength as best they can but, as I said, I am sure ACT supporters will want to see a National-led Government installed and installed reasonably quickly," he said.
"We've got the situation internationally with the financial position where I think it's important that we are at Apec if we possibly can be."
Mr Key hopes to be sworn in by Monday next week is so he could leave for Peru, where the Apec summit meeting is being held the following day.
Mr Key said he expects the Apec summit, where the leaders of all the world's major economies will meet, is going to turn into an economic summit. Mr Key said it may be possible. The Governor-General would have to agree to the move without the final special votes results on November 22.
"We've got some meetings on that today."
He was asked if he would look to the Maori Party if ACT became too difficult. Mr Key said he had a good personal relationship with Mr Hide.
"He's made it quite clear his supporters want to see a National-led Government... in the end a National-led government needs to be installed and installed reasonably quickly."
Mr Key is meeting with the Maori Party tomorrow to see if they can form a relationship also.
Today he said it felt fantastic to be arriving at Parliament ready to head a Government.
"It's good to be here, there's a lot of work to be done today. I want to get down to the business of negotiating the arrangements with the other parties as soon as we can so we can put together a stable effective government and I am quite confident we can do that quite quickly.
"I think the country wants us to get on with it and that's the spirit we are going to go into those negotiations on."
He was keen to get on with dealing with pressing issues such as the economy, law and order and education and had no illusions the job would be easy.
Mr Key said he never expected to become Prime Minister when he arrived in Parliament in 2004 and had good breaks and Caucus support.
He was asked about what would have happened had New Zealand First had got 1 percent more of the vote and been in a position to support Labour with other parties.
"I think New Zealanders though responded to the fact we took a principled view, I think there are some New Zealand First voters who moved to National on the back of that, I think there were some Labour supporters that didn't want to see NZ First as part of a government in the 2008-2011 period, and voted for National."
Mr Key said National numbers had held up well even when the South Auckland results came in.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has rung Mr Key to congratulate him and invite him to visit. The offices of Prime Minister of Britain Gordon Brown and of Canada Stephen Harper were arranging times to call.
