Douglas loyalty test?

Press, 1 August 1989, Page 1

Douglas loyalty test?

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington Electing Mr Roger Douglas back to the Cabinet in Thursday’s caucus vote will have to include a declaration of loyalty by him to be acceptable to the Prime Minister.

Mr Lange at his post-Cabinet press conference yesterday, would not go into the detail of what he might or .might not do. But when asked what he might do if Mr Douglas would not swear loyalty to him, he said there were a variety of things he could do under the Labour constitution.

“All that is totally academic at this stage and everyone should wait until Thursday,” Mr Lange said.

Several weeks ago he signalled that the two vacant positions in the Cabinet would be voted on at Thursday’s scheduled Labour caucus meeting. - . A .. .

They have been vacant since first Mr Richard Prebble and then Mr Douglas left the Cabinet last yfear.

After losing a leadership contest against Mr Lange in December, Mr Douglas gave himself a

six-month campaign to topple Mr Lange’s leadership. This culminated in a “no-confidence” vote in late June which Mr Lange defeated. Mr Lange said yesterday that Mr Douglas had “established certain pre-conditions” for a position in the Cabinet, referring to Mr Douglas’s hostile 14-page letter of ■ ; last December saying he would not serve as Mr Lange’s Minister of Finance - • Asked if he expected Mr .Prebble to be < ready to come back, he referred to Mr Prebble’s television interview when he

questioned the Prime Minister’s mental health. “Either I’ve had a remarkable conversion to sanity or he’s done a remarkable about-face about wanting to work with me,” Mr Lange said. Asked if he expected Messrs Douglas and Prebble to make . statements ,to the,, caucus about 'working ‘witti^him,^the, Prime Minister said, “No, you don’t engage in a primary election campaign in the caucus before you go for the vote.” He confirmed there “might well be” a wider Cabinet vote for the caucus in October.