CHRIS PATTEN, preparing for the most important week of his governorship, has been told by Hong Kong people that he has no useful role to play in the territory's affairs once Wednesday's crucial vote on his political reforms is over.
While an apathetic public is prepared to let Legislative Councillors decide the future course of the territory's constitution, an exclusive Sunday Morning Post poll also reveals a majority believe Mr Patten's job here is now done . . . whatever the outcome of the vote.
Government House last night rejected the poll's findings, with spokesman Mike Hanson saying: ''The Governor has a very full agenda in the final three years and Mr Patten will be staying here to see it through.'' But it is bound to be a blow to Mr Patten, who today launches a last-minute campaign to swing wavering legislators round to his political blueprint.
The Sunday Morning Post telephone survey of 1,013 people reveals 52 per cent of those polled believe Mr Patten no longer has a useful role to play here. Thirty-two per cent disagree and the remaining 16 per cent are unsure.
It also reveals that most people believe China will dismantle whatever electoral model legislators endorse this week, with a small majority saying Beijing is justified in doing so.
But the overwhelming impression is of a lack of interest in the final chapter to the two-year-long political reform saga. Few people have any preference for Mr Patten's bill, or the amendments legislators have suggested.
