A CASE FOR REFLECTION

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 66, Issue 5604, 12 April 1943, Page 2

A CASE FOR R EFLECTION

THE regret expressed in Christchurch by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Holland) that failure to secure political unity in directing the nation’s war effort has made a General Election this year inevitable will be shared by the great majority of the people, says the Evening Post When the people as a whole are united in one common purpose and are prepared to make sacrifices to achieve it, it is a matter for regret that the two man political parties, while both recognising the need for concentration on the war effort, have not been able to reach common ground on the best means of bringing that about. Although the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) has made it clear that he would welcome the formation of a truly National Government, he has been unable to convince a majority of his followers that such a course would be in the best interests of the country. The formation of a War Administration, which paved the way for a postponement of the elections, held out hoped of a measure of unity and sta«bility at the top, but when this experiment broke down on a question of principle the validity for withholding

from the people the right to decide j who shall administer the affairs of the country disappeared. A General I Election thus became inevitable. It is well that the public, faced with the necessity of giving a verdict on political issues this year, should reflect on the history of the negotiations which took place to bring about political unity.