Old Hand, New Face, Wild Card in the race

The contest for the next Prime Minister will be between the Old Hand, the Newer Face, and the Wild Card.

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Police and Corrections Minister Judith Collins have declared they will stand for the position of National Party leader and Prime Minister.

Of the other potential candidates, Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett is refusing to rule herself out of the race. Transport Minister Simon Bridges and Justice Minister Amy Adams say they will not stand, but remain in the picture as possible deputies.

The three candidates stated their case for the top job yesterday.

English, an MP of 26 years, said he would focus on regenerating the party and maintaining economic growth. He wanted Kiwis to see the benefits of that growth, including the country’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

Outgoing leader John Key and several other senior ministers have endorsed English, but he said he was not taking a win for granted.

Bennett, who is close to English and Key, has been tipped as English’s possible deputy. Neither she nor English would discuss the issue yesterday.

Coleman, a relatively low-profile minister, said there was a “significant appetite” within his party for a “change from the status quo”. In a clear bid to paint himself as the fresh face compared with English, he said he was “relatively young” and although he had been in politics for 11 years he was not a “professional politician”.

There are just four years between English and Coleman.

Coleman would not name a deputy, but spoke highly of Adams. The Justice Minister said she was not attached to any ticket at this point.

Collins is the outsider in the contest. Declaring her bid yesterday, she said National could expect its “toughest challenge ever” at the 2017 election and she was the toughest candidate.

She also underlined her credentials as a woman, saying National had been led by men “for quite some time” and the party needed someone who could appeal to men, women and all ethnicities. Her bid raised questions about her controversial past, which has included a conflict of interest scandal involving her husband and claims she tried to undermine a senior public servant.

An inquiry into the second case found no evidence of wrong-doing, though Collins went further yesterday and said she had been “completely exonerated” and “was happy to move on”.