P.M. ebullient after a year of unprecedented turmoil

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 16

P.M. ebullient after a year of unprecedented turmoil

THE TENSION within the Government has gone, with the departure of Roger Douglas and Richard Prebble from the Cabinet, says David Lange. Mr Lange is certainly looking relaxed, as he gives an interview three days short of Christmas. He indulges himself in some word play on asset sales. Electricorp should not be sold, he says, as it is a monopoly currently — “Currently! That’s a good pun.” But the high tension wires that ran between Mr Lange’s office and the sixth floor Beehive suites of Roger Douglas and Richard Prebble still carry voltage. The two Ministers may have departed, but the static of a year’s feuding remains. It emerges periodically throughout the half hour of the interview.

Mr Lange praises the style of the replacement Ministers. Although he says this carries no adverse reflection, the description is loaded.

“Both David (Caygill) and Stan (Rodger), if they wanted to go through a gate, would tend to open it, rather than smash it down.”

Both Mr Douglas and Mr Prebble have said the Prime Minister stated he was prepared to quit his job, such was the tension in his relationship with them.

When he entered hospital in July for heart treatment, he wasn’t thinking about carrying on in the job. He was considering his chances of living or dying. “But in terms of the job, I have tenaciously clung to it.” He is less firm in rejecting the specific claims that he offered to stand down.

“Well unlike them I don’t go around making statements about what they allege were private conversations.”

There was a philosophical difference between him and the Ministers and it was resolved. Mr Lange is enjoying that resolution. The shadow over his usual ebullience has lifted since Mr Douglas was dismissed.

He is on a “high,” similar to that he attained during the long working days after the Rainbow Warrior was sunk and France was declaring its innocence. A suggestion that he thrives on crisis is rejected, as this implies he searches for such opportunities. “But I do rise to challenges and I find certain things exciting and every now and then one’s stamina and judgment are tested in pretty extreme circumstances.”

The closing weeks of 1988 have provided such a challenge.

One test of himself was not to engage in “tit-for-tat” responses to Roger Douglas as the dirty washing was unbundled. There was much temptation to respond, says Mr Lange, clearly proud that he did not.

“I think the other thing about it is that I enjoy seeing people making fools of themselves. I don’t set out to make fools of them and I’m not talking about political colleagues now.” In a breath Mr Lange changes to saying. he likes seeing media people make fools of themselves. When, for instance, they circulate stories such as that doing the

round of financial markets before Christmas that he had cracked up or the rumour that his wife, Naomi, had gone back to live in Britain.

generally judged to be stronger than that he has enjoyed until recently in the Cabinet. But he says he has rejected the many situations where he could have furthered rapport with the caucus when his view was being rejected by the Cabinet. “It would amount to ratting on your Cabinet — and you don’t.” It is put to Mr Lange that instead he turned to the Labour Party for support in trying to rein-in Roger Douglas and Richard Prebble. The Cabinet reshuffle, for instance, was held over for some weeks and announced immediately after the party conference. “Well I don’t see that that means I turned to the party for support.” He agrees he worked hard to improve relations with the party this year, resulting in the statement of intent, requiring consultation about policy shifts. "That was, if I could say so with due modesty, a very sensible thing to do.”

Another media myth is firmly dispelled by the Prime Minister. Suggestions that he and Roger Douglas were once close friends are, he' says, overemphasised. Parliament is not a breeding ground for friendship with anyone.

“One of the funny things about the place is that you don’t know people particularly well, privately, if I can put it that way.” Politicians tend not to have particularly close friendships with each other.

“I mean, I don’t actually know where Roger lives.” Politics requires a practical working relationship, an affinity, but friendship can be too strongly asserted. There is a certain long-dis-tance loneliness in being Prime Minister.

Mr Lange says he knew, for example, of Waitaki’s disastrous result well in advance of its being released but he could not discuss it even with Labour M.P.s who have meat works in their electorates.

Without the process of consultation, there would have been no announcement of the sale of Air New Zealand and Postßank, he says. These sales also put to rest the claims that the party would veto the Government’s

His support in the caucus is

A relaxed Mr Lange talks to our Parliamentary reporter,

Brendon Burns, about the lastvear and the year ahead

right to govern, he says. “Can I assure you the party doesn’t want to run the country.” His personal yardstick on assets sales is that they can proceed if this is worth more than retaining them. It is no secret, he says, that he had strong misgivings about the plan to sell Postßank. But the $665 million offer by the A.N.Z. Bank, with assurances on maintaining services, left the country much better off than from receiving small Postßank dividends. He is personally opposed to selling monopoly services such as New Zealand Post and Electricorp, in spite of the likely high prices they would attract. With the assets sales programme proceeding, Mr Lange reiterates the commitment to having no increase in the financial deficit next financial year and a balanced Budget by 1990/ 91. The Government will move to encourage growth and investment, he says. This has not been occurring because of the fall-out from the October 1987 crash. Another reason is identified, which can be summarised as the December 17, 1987, economic statement of Mr Douglas.

Mr Lange’s' description is of a series of decisions on tax and other matters designed to be benign but which were seen as malignant.

In the longer term, the trend to lower interest and exchange rates would )e extremely welcome by iranufacturers and farmers. “The Government’s strategy is gong to have to be to identify with those productive sectors because that’s where employment is giing to arise, that’s where our w®lth comes from.”

Mr Lange siys he believes the Government low has achieved the calm anl stability he has seen seeking The leadership vote assisted his.

“The whole thing seems without tensions.”

He will notaccept that a year has been lost to the Government because of lis in-fighting with Mr Douglas aid Mr Prebble. He points to the education reforms that have been announced. Mu:h social policy, which has beai undergoing subterranean analysis, will emerge in the New Y;ar.

“No, certairiy we haven’t lost a year. I dorit concede that at all.”