Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton has announced he will stand down as MP for the Christchurch electorate of Wigram if he is elected as Christchurch Mayor.
Until now Mr Anderton had maintained he could do both jobs, however, he said this afternoon the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch nine days ago had changed that equation dramatically.
"It is perfectly reasonable for people to now question whether the earthquake has altered the balance of the challenge facing the city and my ability to manage the positions of both mayor and MP even if only for a short time.
"Christchurch and the whole Canterbury region will need leadership which is focused on the enormous task ahead of us. I am making it clear today that I am ready to give exactly that kind of leadership."
Prior to the earthquake, Mr Anderton had held a comfortable lead in the mayoralty poll however since the quake he has been overshadowed by the leadership of the incumbent mayor, Bob Parker.
As we said on Friday, this is too little, too late from Jim Anderton. He should have followed our sage advice, and made his position clear from the outset. That he has prevaricated and played games with the media over his decision is disturbing. Surely, the decision to resign as MP for Wigram if elected was a no-brainer.
That doesn't matter so much now. Bob Parker's response to the Christchurch earthquake has been outstanding, and he has shown the kind of leadership which Jim Anderton has not. He deserves a further three years at the helm to oversee the rebuilding of the Garden City.
1 comments:
"He deserves a further three years at the helm to oversee the rebuilding of the Garden City."
Dave Henderson will be pleased. I wonder what plans he and Bob have for the city? A further fat transfer of ratepayers' money in Dave's direction do you think? Interesting to see you're so keen on that.
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