THE PRESS THURSDAY, MAY 7, 1987. National’s economic policy

Press, 7 May 1987, Page 16

THE PRESS THURSDAY, MAY 7, 1987. National’s economic policy

The National Party, not for the first time this year, has patched up the very public differences among some of its members about the economic policy on which the party intends to contest the General Election. The word from the leader, Mr Bolger, and from Sir Robert Muldoon, is that the policy has been agreed on by the National caucus, the criticism from the Papakura M.P., Mr Merv Wellington, notwithstanding. Now that the General Election seems certain to be held in August, the public has reason to hope for an early disclosure of the policy that has caused so much trouble in the making. For some time it has appeared likely that the election would be fought over economic matters. General Elections almost always focus on the economy. The debate over National’s economic policy that a few members of the caucus have conducted in public has clarified some points — the abandonment of a fixed rate of exchange, for instance — but the substance of National’s economic policy is still unknown. Until this week, there has been sufficient diversity of opinion coming out of the party to support a series of interpretations about how National would handle the economy. No political party can afford to make promises based on circumstances that may be very different by the time an election is held. The time has shrunk to be of little consequence now. In any event, the National Party could have avoided much of the impression of disarray and rebellion that has been created if only it had announced more of the fundamental economic principles it

intends to follow. The party has had no difficulty with the early announcement of law and order policy, of its intentions for the Broadcasting Corporation, of forest policy, and so on. The delay in presentation of a cohesive economic policy has tended to confirm the thought that the party has had difficulty arriving at one. National may have had a problem making its economic policy sound markedly different from that of the Government This would be understandable, because the Labour Party appears to have usurped the traditional economic ground of the Right Unless the National Party has come up with significant departures from the economic path the country is following — in which event the sooner it tells voters the more chance they have to appreciate the merits of change — it may have to fall back on the argument that it would follow pretty much the same policies, but would implement them better. A similarity of approach to economic matters by the main parties would tend to turn the election focus to other issues. If National does intend to push the election debate away from the economy, it has little enough time to steer public attention to platforms on which there will be a clear choice. No such change of focus is possible while most people still wait for answers on economic policy. Whichever election strategy the Opposition plans to adopt, and whether the economic policy is markedly different or much the same as that being followed by the Government, there is nothing to gain by keeping it under wraps any longer.