POLITICAL STALEMATE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 263, 4 October 1940, Page 7

POLITICAL STALEMATE.

SEATS EVENLY DIVIDED,

FEDERAL SITUATION

SYDNEY, Oct. 4

Two of the three doubtful Federal seats were decided during to-day’s check-up of the candidates’ preferences, resulting in the Government winning both. One seat, Maramoa, in Queensland, remains to be decided, but the indications point to the official Labour candidate (Mr F. Baker) winning, in Which case the state of the parties in the House of Representatives will be equal, 36 seats each, with two Independents.

The House consists of 75 members, including the Northern Territory member, who possesses the right to vote only in connection with ordinances for his territory. The two Government candidates returned to-day were the former Minister of Customs (Mr J. Perkins), who retained the Eden-Monaro seat, and Lieutenant-Colonel R. S. Ryan, who won the Flinders seat in Victoria form erly held by the Minister of Air, The iato Mr J. V. Fairbairn. The latter contest has been extremely interesting largely owing to the neck-and-neck fight between the Labour candidate (Mr T. Lee) and the Independent (Mr E. A. Mann), who prior to the election was the official commentator on the national broadcasting stations, known as “The Watchman.” The Federal elections are thus a virtual stalemate capable of producing a major political crisis in the event of Labour declining to be associated with a National Government, which, according to political observers, is the only way out. ' Authoritative Labour opinion is already declaring that in no circumstances will the Labour Party accept fewer than half the portfolios in any National Government. Labour also demands the right to select its own Ministers. The position will be surveyed at the conference of Parliamentary leaders convened by Mr Menzies for Monday.