Young may remain in short term

Press, 8 March 1989, Page 6

Young may remain in short term

By

OLIVER RIDDELL,

in Wellington

Mr Neville Young is expected to be still president after today’s special National Party executive meeting, but with his authority severely dented.

The meeting has been called to reconsider the forced resignation of National’s secretary-general, Mr Max Bradford, and Mr Young’s role in that. As long as he retains the support of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger, Mr Young’s position is secure. He still seems to have Mr Bolger’s backing. Mr Young’s chances of retaining the presidency in the longer term, however, look slim. Already a number of potential challengers are putting their names forward, including a backbench National member of Parliament, Mr Murray McCully, who has attracted Mr Bolger’s ire for his move. But whether or not Mr Young survives, the real focus at today’s meeting will be on Mr Bolger. His support of Mr Young and others in forcing out Mr Bradford has damaged his standing with many of his Parliamentary colleagues and with many at senior level in the party organisation. National’s three strongest divisions — Auckland, Waikato and Wellington — have passed resolutions in support of Mr Bradford in the fortnight since he was forced out. These resolutions are not just implied criticisms of Mr Young but also of Mr Bolger. Last week in Parliament those events in the party organisation, plus Mr Bolger’s attack on Mr McCully’s presidential ambitions, were causing many people to question Mr Bolger’s leadership. This questioning has continued, even though damage-control measures instituted on behalf of Mr Bolger have driven it underground. As National members of Parliament returned to Parliament yesterday they resumed their private talks about Mr Bolger.

Mr Bolger has remained leader for three years in part because he has been able to occupy the middle ground between the social conservatives around Mr Winston Peters and the economic “dries” around Miss Ruth Richardson. The members of these groups continue to talk to each other, even though Mr Peters and Miss Richardson deny that they are speaking to each other or will do a deal. Whatever the roles of Mr Bolger and Mr Peters, their supporters are both bidding for Miss Richardson’s supporters. Miss Richardson’s supporters have also supported Mr Bradford, while Mr Bolger’s supporters have supported Mr Young. Mr Peters has to date stayed out of the Young-Bradford row. It may be Mr Young who will be found guilty or not guilty at today’s executive meeting but it is Mr Bolger who is now on trial. There are no easy answers for today’s special meeting. It has been called at the request of 13 of its 24 members but against the wishes of Mr Young. If it decides for Mr Young and confirms the forced resignation of Mr Bradford as its secretary-general, Mr Bradford’s supporters will continue to work to destabilise Mr Young. If it decides for Mr Bradford, that will oblige Mr Young to resign, as it will equal a vote of no-confidence in him by his executive. No accommodation between Mr Young and Mr Bradford is possible. They can no longer work with each other or resume a president-chief executive relationship. If Mr Young were ousted, the name being touted to step in as acting president is that of Mr Lindsay Tisch, vicepresident of the party’s Waikato division. This has been side-stepped by Mr Tisch as "hypothetical.”