Nats look ahead to 2020 polls
The National Party has put a lid on the election, apparently pinpointing its missteps but refusing to reveal them, and its members are doggedly refraining from talking about Winston Peters.
It is the approach out of a twoday caucus retreat that called the entire caucus, party executive and even some MP hopefuls, to take stock of its election loss and strategise for the next three years in Opposition.
And despite an unusual break in the party’s ranks that saw the leadership of Bill English and deputy Paula Bennett come into question, a tight display of unity at the Tauranga gathering suggests the party has devised a strict songsheet for 2020.
Enthusiastic support for English to remain as leader reached a peak when senior MP Mark Mitchell mistakenly went so far as to declare romantic feelings for English, before realising what he had said and pulling it back.
‘‘I’m a bit of a romantic because I believe Bill actually deserves to get up, he’s worked hard, he’s done so much for the country to bring us back in 2020.’’
But asked if he had any ‘‘romantic feelings’’ to NZ First coming back to support National in the future he said: ‘‘My romantic feelings only sit with Bill on that’’. And then: ‘‘Let me rephrase that, the romantic thoughts are around Bill being able to come back.
‘‘We’ve looked quite hard at reviewing the election and our own campaign and, more importantly, we’re looking at the path forward through to 2020,’’ he said.
‘‘Any number of things could have been done differently that may have got us into Government. I won’t go through the whole list of them but I think what we’ve seen [on Thursday] is a pretty honest appraisal.’’
Despite National holding its position as the most popular party in Government, the party was unable to secure the support of NZ First and it is understood the relationship between leader Winston Peters and some of National’s senior MPs was at least partly responsible.
Peters has also been embroiled in legal action against some of National’s senior leadership team, including the party’s campaign manager, Steven Joyce, and deputy leader Paula Bennett after the leaking of some of his personal pension details.
It was likely one point discussed by the entire caucus, the party executive, its youth wing and five additional list candidates waiting in wings, who descended on the Trinity Wharf Hotel for the conference.
English had to contend with leadership speculation which arose last week, with claims some in the caucus were preparing to replace him, with an expectation he would retire before the 2020 election.
However, often-speculated leadership hopefuls including Tauranga MP Simon Bridges and Northcote MP Jonathan Coleman both said English was the right person to lead National.
Meanwhile, senior MPs Chris Finlayson, Nick Smith and Steven Joyce also threw their weight behind English and maintained they had no intention of departing politics before the term ended. That speculation was driven by the presence of non-caucus members, which was a first for the party at the annual retreat.
Present at the secretive caucus meeting were the next five on National’s list: Maureen Pugh, Nicola Willis, Agnes Loheni, Paulo Garcia and David Hiatt.
It was expected some of them would find themselves in Parliament before the term ended, as retirements are eventually announced the party manages a rejuvenation process ahead of 2020.
Asked what he thought of the support of his caucus members, English said he was ‘‘not surprised’’. ‘‘I’ve had strong support from the caucus and the party and the large number of voters who have voted for us. Support for me is not an issue.’’