Mr Beetham: Do you still want me as leader?

Press, 2 November 1985, Page 8

Mr Beetham: Do you still want me as leader?

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington Tensions and bickering within the Democratic Party have reached such a pitch that the leader, Mr Bruce Beetham, has asked the public to endorse his leadership. Since losing his seat of Rangitikei at the 1984 General Election, Mr Beetham has stayed on as leader but has looked increasingly forlorn. Both the Democrats’ members of Parliament are in Auckland and are giving the party an increasingly metropolitan appearance. This is very different from the rural conservative constituency Mr Beetham represented. As well, Mr Beetham lost the internal struggle over what the party should be called. In spite of his strong lobbying, the annual conference this year at Lincoln College changed the party’s name from Social Credit Party to Democratic Party. This indicated the mood of a majority in the party to move away from the Douglas Social Credit policies and financial management which the party faithful had supported for years, but which had never attracted widespread voter support and which most people seemed unable to under-

stand. To reflect this less creditconscious and more urban mood among the Democrats, moves to supplant Mr Beetham had been expected from supporters of the deputy leader, Mr Garry Knapp (East Coast Bays). This has continued beneath the surface, but no moves have been made and Mr Beetham has continued to be leader from his almost semi-retirement in Marton. But this week the chairman of the West Auckland electorate committee, Mr Mike Webber, broke the silence and the issue of Mr Beetham’s continuing leadership became public. Mr Beetham has responded with a step he describes as totally unexpected and quite unprecedented. He has invited the general public and the party membership to communicate with him during the next few days to tell him whether he should lead the Democrats at the next General Election. Certain elements in the party, which Mr Beetham described as destructive, had opposed him for a long time. They had been inspired by the “schemozzle” in the National Party to break ranks, and party rules, to raise the leadership

issue publicly, he said. According to threats he had received, others were on the verge of doing similarly. Thus there was now real logic in inviting the public to have as much of a say on the question as anyone else. A national council meeting of the Democratic Party is planned for late next week, and Mr Beetham intends to raise the question of his continued leadership of the party. If the membership, and the general public, wanted to participate indirectly in that council discussion they were welcome to get in touch with him at his home in Marton so that their views could be passed on to the council, he said. “How safe would Social Credit philosophy and policy be in the Democratic Party if I depart the leadership?” he asked. “Should the party retain my knowledge and experience in Social Credit and the leadership, or opt for a newer face? “Would a newer face, of itself, work some miracle for the party’s image and future? Should I be sidelined, like Vem Cracknell was nearly 20 years ago, in the hope a successor would prove to possess more charisma? “Could this be done with

safety,” Mr Beetham asked, “or would it invite a repeat of the traumas that wrecked the Social Credit Party in the early 1970 s?” Could the party play fast and loose with its remaining resources of highly qualified people, or was it in no position to afford this luxury? What would have been achieved and what would happen if the leadership change occurred and the party fared no better? “Do I represent the key identification point for Social Credit under its new ‘Democratic’ label in the next election,” he asked, “or could this be provided sufficiently by someone else? Are there any valid lessons to be learned from the leadership change in the National Party?” Mr Beetham said he wanted and expected a response to these questions. . Once and for all, he wanted to clear away a public misconception about his health. He was 100 per cent fit and well, having recovered long ago from a minor setback in early 1983. “At 49, I feel I am just getting into my political stride and have yet to reach my prime,” Mr Beetham said. "I still have a lot to contribute to the country.”