Goff drops leadership denials

Helen Clark's heir apparent, Phil Goff, appears to be positioning himself for a leadership tilt if Labour loses the election, dropping his previous denials that he had ambitions for the job.

Mr Goff, Labour's third-ranked minister, has also conceded Labour could lose the election as it battles a mood for change.

His comments, made two weeks ago in an interview on ALT TV and screened last night, have sparked an uproar.

Though he is widely accepted as Miss Clark's successor should she step down after a Labour loss, his opening the door to that possibility now is likely to spark damaging leadership speculation.

In the interview, Mr Goff said Labour's losing the election was "always a possibility".

He went on to say: "I'm not thinking in a defeatist way about the next election.

"Sure there's a prospect that we might lose the election. There's also a good chance that when people look at substance, look at leadership - and Helen Clark is head and shoulders above John Key."

Asked whether he was a leadership prospect if Labour lost and Miss Clark quit, Mr Goff responded: "I don't know. That's a decision made by caucus."

In response to further questions, he said being prime minister was "not an overwhelming ambition".

That contrasts with a comment in February when, asked if he had ambitions to be prime minister, he said: "I have absolutely none."

Mr Goff's latest comments are understood to have raised eyebrows in the Labour caucus, and there was a stern warning to MPs yesterday about unity.

Questioned yesterday about the interview, Mr Goff said he was aware of a mood for change and Labour was headed toward the election as underdog.

But he rejected any suggestion that Miss Clark's leadership was in question and said the uproar over his comments was "a beat-up".

"There is no question about leadership at the moment. There is 100 per cent support for Helen Clark and I have been 100 per cent in support of her right through this term of office ... The question about leadership will take place at the point in the future when Helen Clark feels that she is going to move on to something else. That point has not yet arisen. We are not looking at losing the election, we are looking at fighting through to the election with a good chance of winning that election."

National leader John Key said Mr Goff's comments were the first signs of a Cabinet falling apart.

Mr Key said he was surprised by Mr Goff's comments.

"One can only conclude he was happy for those comments to be in a public domain."

Speaking on TV One's Breakfast programme this morning Mr Key said Mr Goff made a gaffe to say defeat was possible.

"What is very deliberate I think is he is laying down a bit of a marker to say I've been around 25 years, I've been the understudy for a long time, Steve Maharey's gone, Trevor Mallard's rendered himself unavailable for that position I think through his actions."

Mr Key said the message was targeted at the "young guns" like David Cunliffe and Shane Jones to say "this is my time now don't get in the way".

He did not think Miss Clark would be challenged before the election.

Mr Key said he had no questions about his deputy Bill English's loyalty – something challenged in Parliament yesterday.

"He's a fantastic deputy doing an amazing job."

The party has been rocked by a recent Fairfax poll putting National 27 percentage points ahead - a finding Miss Clark rejected as "way out of line".

It did not reflect the feedback Labour was receiving, she said.

Fairfax group executive editor Paul Thompson said the poll methodology was sound.

- with NZPA

- © Fairfax NZ News