Length of leadership before winning an election

How long has each Prime Minister been party leader before winning an election? Let’s take the post WWII ones.

  1. Sidney Holland, 109 months
  2. Norman Kirk, 84 months
  3. Walter Nash, 83 months
  4. Helen Clark, 72 months
  5. Jim Bolger, 57 months
  6. Peter Fraser, 42 months
  7. Keith Holyoake, 39 months
  8. John Key, 24 months
  9. Robert Muldoon, 17 months
  10. David Lange, 17 months

So it is asking a lot of the public to make someone Prime Minister of New Zealand, when they have not had a chance to actualy observe their leadership skills for just two months. Campaign skills will be on display, but there is a difference between leadership skills and campaign skills.

Comments (124)

Login to comment or vote

Add a Comment