Douglas returns! Hide and Douglas have buried the hatchet; Douglas the founder of the ACT party has made up with Hide in election year. It seems that the similarities between the policies of National /Labour and the “state of the country” has driven Douglas to re-enter the ACT party ranks to help campaign.
I think this will be good for ACT, when Hide first came to power he focused on scandal politics. However over the last couple of years we have seen ACT mellow out and really start to develop a position in parliament (whether that is a good or bad thing is a different story). This shift within ACT and the lack of choice in the major parties has set the ground for Douglas to return.
It will be good to see Douglas on the scene again. The experience he brings to ACT will really help them with the development of policy et al. which will increase their chances of a return at the end of 2008.