to withdraw. Roger Douglas Former Minister of Finance Roger Douglas (who had previously challenged Lange for the leadership in 1988) also considered contesting the position. He later withdrew in favour of Moore upon realizing that he could not beat Palmer and concentrated on a bid for the deputy leadership. He lost this position to left-wing Health Minister Helen Clark by only a narrow margin. Public opinion polling Result A caucus vote was held on 8 August 1989. The result of the ballot saw Geoffrey Palmer win the leadership over Mike Moore 41 votes to 13. The result for the deputy leadership was far less decisive, with Helen Clark defeating Roger Douglas 29 votes to 25. Leadership ballot Deputy-leadership ballot Aftermath Palmer led Labour for the next fourteen months, though struggled to repair the party's damaged image. Palmer retained Moore as third in the cabinet rankings and also gave him the coveted position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in early 1990. After it became clear that Labour could not win the next election, Palmer was replaced as leader by Moore only two months before the 1990 general election. Having Moore as leader was believed by many in the Labour caucus to give it better success at the polls. Palmer then decided not to stand for election in 1990 and retired from politics, remaining as Minister for the Environment (outside cabinet) until the election before returning to his academic career. Notes References Labour Party leadership 1989 August 1989 events in New Zealand Indirect elections New Zealand Labour Party leadership election