THE PRESS TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1978. Local election meetings

Press, 22 August 1978, Page 16

THE PRESS TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1978. Local election meetings

The Relative eclipse of the local election meeting in recent years has been regrettable. Appearances of candidates on television and reports of their views in newspapers are not adequate substitutes for personal encounters with and assessment of candidates. The candidates themselves recognise this by canvassing door to door. But no candidate can hope to meet more than a fraction of each electorate in this way. The days of candidates drawing significant audiences on street corners will probably never return. But there is a definite place for local meetings at which all candidates present themselves to gatherings of local electors and submit themselves to informal questioning.

This kind of meeting, usually arranged by some local organisation rather than by a political party, has become popular in recent campaigns and may even signal a revival in face-to-face electioneering. In an electorate which has shown itself to be particularly volatile in the last two Genera! Elections some common ground for a meeting of uncommitted voters before all candidates makes good sense. Such meetings are probably quite useless as platforms for conveying party policies in any detail; but that should not be regarded as their main purpose.

For some time the National Party has ruled that, generally, its candidates

shall not appear on the same platforms as the candidates of other parties. But combined candidate meetings, which bring candidates together on politically neutral ground, are likely’ to continue to appeal to voters. The kind of elector who would welcome most the opportunity to size up candidates in person is not likely to go to a meeting simply to boost a party’s apparent standing or hear a candidate give, unchallenged, the views of one party alone. What such voters seek is a chance to compare candidates and their attitudes. They cannot do this effectively if National candidates decline to attend combined meetings. Some sympathy for the National Party’s position might not be out of place. This year in particular. National candidates may find themselves one against three or more at combined meetings. But this is surely not a serious disadvantage. Indeed, astute National candidates could turn the situation to their advantage if the other candidates appeared to be combining to “get National.” The party simply fosters the impression that some of its candidates cannot stand the test. In a healthy democracy, the voters make informed, rational choices among the candidates offering. Some voters at least find combined meetings a great help in doing this. Such meetings should, therefore, be encouraged and all parties should support them.