Lange under renewed threat

Press, 28 June 1989, Page 1

Lange under renewed threat

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

For the second time in three weeks a potential ambush against the leadership of the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, has been sprung by members of the Government’s caucus.

Debate at tomorrow morning’s scheduled caucus meeting may culminate in a challenge to his leadership. The Press Association reported Mr Lange saying he was clear about the options. “I am the leader. I am determined to carry on.” In an interview yesterday with Australian Associated Press, he refused to speculate on a leadership challenge. “All I’m saying is that I am the leader. I was there by a three-to-one vote in December,” he said. It was last December when Mr Douglas unsuccessfully challenged for the leadership. Murmurs of another attempt have circulated since.

A challenge is still being discussed by Labour members of Parliament, but having news of it in advance gives Mr Lange time to defend himself. Several elements have combined during this Parliamentary recess of five weeks to give supporters of the former Minister of Finance, Mr Roger Douglas, the chance to topple Mr Lange. First, a number of Lange supporters are overseas. They could miss voting at a caucus meeting which Douglas supporters have been alerted to return home for.

Second, Mr Lange and Mr Douglas have been holding a series of private talks to resolve outstanding issues between them.

Dr Bill Sutton (Hawke’s Bay) has a question on the caucus order paper tomorrow asking what progress talks are making. If enough caucus members reach the conclusion that Mr Lange is fobbing off Mr Douglas, or is not serious about the talks,' then they could use that as an excuse to mount a leadership challenge. Third, at a meeting between Mr Lange and Mr Douglas last week two other Cabinet Ministers were brought in — the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Palmer, and the Minister of Finance, Mr Caygill-

They agreed that Mr Douglas produce a strategy paper on how Labour could win the next election.

Mr Douglas said afterwards that he hoped they would not use his ideas and discard him “like an empty husk.” Mr Caygill told “The Press” that it was intended Mr Douglas’s paper look at future strategies but not advance policy proposals as such.

Mr Douglas has now circulated his strategy paper to all Labour M.P.s, and not just to Messrs Lange, Palmer and Caygill. It makes policy proposals as well as looking at strategies for winning the next election. Hearing of the possible ambush, the president of the Labour Party, Ms Ruth Dyson, has delayed her overseas trip this week. Ms Dyson told the Press Association she did not see any sense in a leadership bid. It seemed “the most, silly time for rumour-mongering to start again” because the relationship between the party and the Government had never been so strong. She hoped the matter would end this week.

Two Lange supporters in the Cabinet have altered their travel plans — the Minister of Customs, Mrs Shields, has come home early and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Marshall, is expected to defer his departure scheduled for today. Questions were being asked by Douglas supporters yesterday whether Mr Lange was not being paranoiac at seeing an ambush behind every tree.

Questions were being asked also by Lange supporters about how much more destabilisation he would tolerate from Douglas supporters. There is emerging in the caucus a faction that believes that if the price of stopping Mr Douglas’s campaign is to replace Mr Lange, and have both men out of the Government, then that price might have to be paid.