THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 June 1925, Page 6

THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK.

The political arena is being cleared for battle, and next week will see all the forces in Dominion polities gathered With renewed vigour to launch a Parliamentary session which will have farreaching influences on the political future of the country. The interest of the man in the street will be recaptured to-morrow, when the new Government led by the Hon. J. G. Coates will, through the medium of the by-eleetion at Franklin, seek its first vote of confidence from a section of the electors. The issue at Franklin is clear—it is a straight-out contest between the Government and Labour, the Liberal Party having decided not to offer a candidate, a move which doubtless was meant to serve as a gesture denoting good faith concerning the fusion proposal. For thirty years Franklin was represented by the late Mr. W. F. Massey, and there is every reason for supposing that the people whp so consistently stood behind the late Prime Minister will emphatically express their confidence in his successor and assign to Labour the place at the bottom of the poll. In these circumstances the Franklin by-election is robbed of mudh of its importance, and therefore chief interest will centre on Wellington, where Parliament will assemble next week. The retention of the Franklin seat by the Government will mean that the parties will face the coming session with the same numerical strength which they held last session, and the Governnent’s slender majority will again be emphasised. But there Is a new factor on this occasion-,—the fusion negotiations. This is the key to the political future, for on the result of these discussions will, to some extent, depend the destiny of the Government and the part to be played by the Libel al Party. A fusion of these two parties will completely change the whole political outlook, and these negotiations will stand out as the most interesting feature of what promises to be a most momentous session of Parliament.