Electorates on the fence

Press, 23 October 1980, Page 9

Electorates on the fence

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r- National Party electorate chairmen in Canterbury were not taking any particular stance on the party’s leadership crisis, said the chairman of the .party’s Canterbury-West-land division, Mr M. F. •Hunter. “ Some chairmen might have had pressure on them, but it was more appropriate that they did not take a public stance on

the issue. The electorate chairmen were, in a sense, the continuing life of the party. Regardless of what happened they would continue to represent the party’s policies. The sooner the leadership crisis was over and done with the better, Mr Hunter said. Electorate chairmen had a responsibility to make sure that the party was as strong as it could be. Making statements would not help the matter, he said.

National Party electorate chairmen in Auckland were also standing back from the party’s leadership crisis, leaving it to the Parliamentary wing to sort it out.

Chairmen approached by reporters generally agreed that the leadership issue had to be settled by the party’s Parliamentarians at today’s caucus meeting. The chairman of the Eden electorate, Mr D. Forman, summed up their general approach. “My attitude is one of ambivalence,” he said. “Our support is for the National Party. What they do in Wellington is their business. Personally, I support whoever goes in as leader.”