The Wanganui Chronicle. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1949 THE CHIEF PROTAGONISTS

Wanganui Chronicle, 4 November 1949, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1949 THE CHIEF PROTAGONISTS

’"THE chief protagonists in the general election campaign are the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. Each has a long record of service in the public cause. The Prime Minister received a good reception last evening and the Leader of the Opposition will undoubtedly receive another of those warm welcomes which have marked his tours of the North Island this year. Mr. Fraser has had one of the most difficult teams to control that has ever fallen to the lot of a New Zealand Premier. From the beginning of the Labour Government there was a. restlessness within the party which did not come to the surface chiefly because Mr. Fraser was a loyal first lieutenant of Savage. The extent to which Mr. Fraser was the power behind the throne in the period when Mr. Savage occupied the first place is no subject for conjecture, for the position was all too clear. That the superior man was content to support a man of less stature in the leading role showed that Mr. Fraser had the capacity for putting the cause before his own personal interests. When Mr. Savage was called to his rest there was no doubt who should succeed him, for Mr. Fraser already wore the mantle. Today, there is a belief that even though the Labour Party were to succeed in retaining office, a prospect which is by no means bright, it would be necessary to displace Mr. Fraser from the leadership because of the heavy toll taken of his strength during the long years of his leadership of the Government. While there may be some basis for this view, it is certain that no man inside the party has his equipment for th'e Prime Ministership and it may be doubted whether another man could be found to take his place today in Parliament. If, then, he has to accept the defeat of his party at the current elections, it is possible that his leadership will be challenged on current grounds and also on the ground that the party suffered defeat under his leadership. An impartial assessor of the situation, however, cannot charge Mr. Fraser with being the architect of the ruin of his party. He has been the one who has kept it together. Mr. Lee was emptied out of the party by the spontaneous action of Mr. Schramm, who eventually became the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Mr. Langstone, however, was a continuous thorn in the flesh, and it is only recently that Mr. Fraser has been relieved of this pain in his side. This Left Wing inside the House has never been really co-operative with the Prime Minister and it is only a man of extreme patience who could have withstood the strain which this intransigeant group imposed upon him. For impose, their will upon him they did to a considerable degree, particularly in the field of financial policy. Mr. Nash made a reputation for himself at Geneva, and also at Havana, of which any man might be proud; but when he brought the Bretton Woods scheme home to Wellington he found that Mr. Langstone and his followers were strong enough to make it impolitic to bring the scheme forward for discussion on the floor of the House of Representatives. Today, while Mr. Fraser may ask questions of Mr. Holland concerning central bank policy, that is the one ground on which he should not have trespassed, because it is upon this ground that he has been compelled more than on any other to admit that he has not been master of his own house. But although his position has been weak he has nevertheless been able to stay in the saddle, which all things considered is no mean achievement and shows Mr. Fraser to be a man of marked skill in political manoeuvring. Mr. Holland, as the Leader of the Opposition, has proved himself to be a man of exceptional ability. In six years he became the dominant personality on the Opposition benches and by the general consent of his party was loaded with the responsibility of the leadership. This feat has never been equalled in New Zealand history. As Leader of the Opposition he grew in stature and it soon became evident that when a “scene” developed it was Mr. Holland who could take control of the House, smooth matters out and restore the harmony of the House once more. This natural leadership in the House of Representatives reacted favourably upon his leadership of his own party. He leads an exceptionally able team, some men are specialists in their line and have earned Dominion-wide reputations. Mr. Bowden is an acknowledged authority on the subject of finance. Mr. Algie knows his law as do few men, Mr. Gooseman knows Public Works by reason of his own business, Mr. Sullivan knows trade and manufacturing after a lifetime spent in both, Mr. Oram knows education administration as it affects the university down to the single-teacher school. Mr.- Gordon is an expert farmer, and he has made good on three distinct kinds of country. Mr. Sheat’s grip of labour problems is unrivalled even in the Labour Party ranks. These men would not take kindly to a leader of indifferent talents: indeed, they would not tolerate him. Nor need they do so, for the National members enjoy freedom of conscience in voting in the House of Representatives: they are not tied by an undertaking to be bound by the majority vote of their colleagues. This freedom of action throws upon the leader the task of persuading his colleagues to take the course he thinks advisable; he can impose no disciplinary action upon them. That Mr. Holland has been able to first attain the leadership in so short a space of time as six years of his entry into the House of Representatives and to be confirmed in that leadership without thought of a challenge from anyone within the party is proof positive of his capacity to lead a Government. He therefore faces the future with much more confidence than does Mr. Fraser and to that extent Mr. Holland’s task is the easier one. Both Mr. Fraser and Mr. Holland deserve well of their countrymen. for they are exceptional men, both as to physique and to their standard of intelligence Mr. Fraser has had an experience which could have made a smaller man bitter, while Mr. Holland has also experience which has matured him and fitted him for the high office that now apparently beckons him.