THE WAIPA POST Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. THURSDAY, 15th NOVEMBER, 1928. A POLITICAL LANDSLIDE.

Waipa Post, Volume 37, Issue 2235, 15 November 1928, Page 4

THE WAIPA POST Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. THURSDAY, 15th NOVEMBER, 1928. A POLITICAL LANDSLIDE.

: THE election is over. As Mi- Coate: $ 'so aptly said in his address to ' Wei lington electors last night', the peopl' have had their opportunity and havi expressed their mind. And in the ex pression they have produced nothinj less than a political landslide. Jus as a wave swept New Zealand thre> years ago and placed the Govern ment of the country in the hands of j party almost without opposition, si to-day, by the opposite swing of tin pendulum, there comes a Parliamen possessing stronger' forces in oppo sition than in Government. Indeed at firstl glance, a political stalmate ii the apparent result of yesterday's ex -pression at the ballot box. It wai scarcely expected. There was the de sire, it was evident on every hand to submit the administration of th< ' country's affairs to a stronger anc more searching opposition, but nobody imagined a result such as was disclosed when the tally was made. Nobody, we imagine, can predici what the immediate future holds in stfore. The three major parties 'possess practically an equal numerical strength, so tfhat not one of themj without the help and goodwill of the other, can hope to survive or to sustain a no-confidence motion. The party leaders themselves will be, we imagine, baffled atl the situation that has arisen. They will naturally give serious thought to their new-found and unexpected responsibility—that of solving the political tangle into which.the electors have forced them. The Prime Minister has expressed the hope that whatever the outcome the country will be the first consideration of Parliament. Such an ideal is commendable; New Zealand will look . for statesmanship in place of party politics in this emergency. The immediate prospect is clouded, but the difficulty is by no means insurmountable if statesmanship is a quality possessed .by those in whose hands rests the destiny of our Parliament and our Dominion. One noticeable result has been the removal of many prominent figures from our Parliament. It was, indeed, an election of surprises. Seldom;, if ever, have so many members holding Cabinet rank been stood on one side. In addition, many proved Parliamentarians who have survived the stress and ttarmoil of many elections in the past suffered defeat. The recoil from what was virtually a tidal wave three years ago which .swept Reform into power was greater than even the bitterest opponents of the Government might have hoped for, and itt carried many proved and seemingly strongly established men in its wake. In this electorate the result of the election was indeed a surprise to many. Those who had followed the campaign in Waitomo anticipated a narrow margin, butt hesitated to express a view. Those who hazarded an opinion, we fancy, might be assumed to have made wish the father of the thought. If meetings may have been regarded as a guide there was little satisfaction. Inevitably the voices were equal in volume, but there was also that sullenly silent majority that suppressed thoughts as j though determined to hold back any expression for the ballot box. The silent vote was the dominant factbr. Even the candidates themselves regarded the prospect as decidedly indefinite until the official count revealed the result. In Raglan the position was different—those who had followed jthe progress of the campaign declared' with emphasis that the issue was never in doubt. As We said at the outset, the election is over. Lett it be hoped that the new Parliament will resolutely apply itself to the solution of the party difficulties and heed the advice of Mr Coates to make the country the first consideration. And that those who have worked so strenuously during the campaign will forget the election as quickly as possible, and so help those who have been elected to sink party in the interests of New Zealand which, in this predicament, should predominate.