NEW Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who called an election Friday for Nov. 8, is an arts-loving mountain climber and one of New Zealand's savviest politicians having won three consecutive elections. Clark created history in 1999 when she became the country's first elected woman prime minister and has held on to power for nine years, each time accurately reading the electorate's mood. But with her small South Pacific island nation now in recession, Clark will need all the political skills she has gathered from 27 years in parliament to retain office, with her centre-left Labour party trailing badly in opinion polls. Labour's minority government trails the main opposition National Party by 14 points in a Reuters survey of five main polls. (Double click on ) Clark, 58, said she believed the election would be fought on the issue of trust and stood firmly by her record. “It is about which leader and which major party we New Zealanders trust our families' and country's future with,” she told reporters. The centre-right National Party, led by the youthful millionaire John Key, is expected to Clark has forged a reputation for New Zealand as an independent player on the international stage, sending troops to fight in Afghanistan and keep the peace in Timor, as well as sending engineers to Iraq to rebuild war damage, although she disagreed with the U.S.-led invasion. And despite a ban on U.S. nuclear-powered ships entering New Zealand waters, Clark has maintained an effective relationship with Washington, but has failed to gain a U.S.-NZ free-trade deal. Clark has worked hard since entering politics in 1981 to shrug off her reputation as a passionless intellectual, but the former political studies lecturer's calm demeanour and formidable intellect have been her strongest suits, shown by her ability to draw on minute detail in the heat of debate. As a teenager from a conservative farming family, Clark became an anti-Vietnam war protester and campaigned against foreign military bases in New Zealand. To shut down criticism of her cohabitation with partner Peter Davis, professor of public health at the University of Otago's Christchurch clinical school, she married him in 1981. National has attempted to portray her as a master of media spin and accused her government of running a “nanny-state” that attempts to control all aspects of people's lives. Clark's love of theatre and opera are reflected in her decision to become Minister of Arts, Culture, and Heritage. She also has a passion for hiking and cross-country skiing, and has climbed mountains in Africa and South America. On Aug 14, Clark had to be evacuated from a mountain hut in New Zealand's South Island, after her guide died of a heart attack. Clark rose to deputy prime minister in the 1984-90 Labour government, which embarked on sweeping free-market reforms. After the party was dumped into opposition, she dragged it back towards its left-wing roots. Clark has led the Labour Party since a caucus coup after the 1993 election, when she ousted former prime minister Mike Moore, who went on to become director-general of the World Trade Organisation. She led Labour to power after the 1999 election, and has successfully maintained a minority government through two elections and different support parties, which analysts say is testament to her negotiation and management skills. Her reputation as a leader who demands loyalty and discipline from her followers has seen no clear successor emerge, with Clark having faced no leadership challenges in her 15 years leading the Labour Party. – Reuters __
