THE COMING ELECTIONS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIX, Issue 4731, 10 August 1935, Page 4

THE COMING ELECTIONS.

As the time draws near for the elections political activity is apparent in many parts of the Dominion, perhaps more so in the Auckland Province then eleswhere. With the advent of the Democratic Party there is likely to be a three-cornered contest in the majority of the electorates. In some instances there may be four or even five nominations and the fight will be a hard one. The Democratic Party has not so far announced its policy but its orga'n*ser, Mr. Davy, stated that it is intended to put up a candidate in every electorate. The question is being asked, however, who is to be the leader of the new Party? After Sir Alexander Herdman's recent public statement, many believe that he will be the leader, but Mr. Wm. Goodfellow is also freely mentioned in this connection. Another name is that of Mr. T. C. Hislop, Mayor of Wellington. Mr. F. W. Doidge, a New Zealander who recently returned from England, and is a strong advocate for Empire free trade, is another aspirant, and as he has declared himself opposed to both the present Government and the Labour Party he is most likely to align himself with the new Party, especially as he has endorsed Sir Alexander Herdman's sensational statement regarding the Government's delinquencies. The question is being asked: What are the chances of the new party? It numbers some influential men in its members, but is not likely to return a sufficient number to entitle, it to occupy the Treasury benches. No doubt it will have an enticing platform to place before the electors, but whether it will be able to fulfil such promises is another matter. That the Forbes-Coates Government is not popular cannot be gainsaid, for it had to introduce many unpopular measures to deal with the prevailing economic, conditions. The position as it promises to be will improve the chances of Labour, but whether the Party will secure an absolute majority is open to doubt. Unless there is a change of front on the part of the Government supporters and the Democratic Party the elections are likely to result in no party having a clear majority, certainly not a state of affairs that would be conducive to sound administration. In a country like this there is only room for two political parties —Labour and anti-Labour, and it would be in the best interests of the Dominion to harrow the issue to these two sections.