By AUDREY YOUNG political reporter
Michelle Boag's claim on the National presidency is looking good after a sensational result of 67 to 66 yesterday in Rotorua in the first regional ballot.
But there are signs that the contest between her and the incumbent, John Slater, may get rough before it is over.
Members of the Boag camp allege that members of the Slater camp are not only reminding delegates of her Winebox inquiry notoriety but that her first husband was jailed for false pretences.
Michelle Boag, a public relations executive, narrowly secured the nomination of the central North Island region which includes Taranaki, King Country, Waikato, Coromandel, Central Plateau, Bay of Plenty and East Coast.
It was considered to be the strongest region for Mr Slater, a businessman.
Michelle Boag's speech yesterday may have tipped the balance, some officials speculated. It was mainly about how to win the next election. Mr Slater's was a thinly veiled attack on her past misdemeanours and future intentions - although he denied that it was.
National needed a president with "an impeccable reputation," he said. His nominator, Don MacFarlane, of Rotorua, said the party needed a president who didn't embarrass the party.
Neither needed to mention Michelle Boag's conduct at the Winebox inquiry in 1996 when she was found in contempt for misleading the commissioner about the filming of New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.
Her employers at the time, merchant bankers Fay Richwhite, were fined $15,000.
Mr Slater said the party did not need a president who would usurp the role of the party leader. And implying that she might be a bullying president, he said he would die in a ditch to fight for members' rights for their say in a democratic party.
"Let's stay on track," he said.
"Even if we're on the right track, if we just sit there, we'll get run over," she said.
National had to beat the new ideas of Labour president Mike Williams. "Their president is no slug," she said.
Views within electorates in the region are thought to have been as evenly divided as the final result rather than parts of the region heavily favouring one candidate.
The next vote is on Sunday in Auckland, their home base. The Boag camp is confident it has the numbers. Mr Slater said he would not withdraw if he fails to win in his home region.
Each candidate must win the support of at least one of the party's five regions, though the regional results do not bind delegates in the final vote at the national conference in July.
First round to Michelle Boag 67-66
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