And so, a new chapter begins

The election of the Speaker of the House and paramount chief Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu as our next head of state was the culmination of a short but intense period of “vanua” politics. As we discussed in our previous column, this political “zone” is by its nature obscure and so determining exactly what went on is never clear. What was clear, was the desire from members of the governing party that there be a change and that one of their own be rewarded. The Prime Minister confused matters by attempting to fast track the re appointment of Tui Macuata Ratu Williame Katonivere. He claims that he backtracked on this decision following receipt of information that suggested the President might be under investigation for actions taken as a board director for various Government owned organisations prior to his appointment.

The specifics of who was doing the investigating and who “blew the whistle” on Ratu Williame at such a convenient time isn’t clear though it is subject to much speculation. Vanua politics also dictates that the Presidency should be rotated around the various confederacies. A practice ignored by the previous Government, but it was suggested by some that as Ratu Williame is from Tovata and he hadn’t finished a full two terms then his replacement should be from the same confederacy. This left only one option…….

If all of this seems a bit expedient, considering the Prime Minister’s traditional allegiances, well the record speaks for itself. As we mentioned previously, for many in Parliament this may have proved also to be a convenient way of removing a Speaker who clearly struggled with the concept of the “independence” of the role. The proposed appointment of a former High Court judge Filimone Jitoko might help in that regard, and it will be interesting to see how he responds to the rough and tumble of the parliamentary chamber.

While on that subject, if Ratu Naiqama struggled with independence of the Speaker YB does wonder how he will handle his ceremonial Head of State function where he is obliged to act on the advice of the Prime Minister and other independent constitutional bodies. As highlighted by some Members of Parliament, a feature of Ratu Williame’s term was the fact that he opened the role making himself and his residency very accessible to the public. To quote Filimoni Vosarogo, he made the State House, “the people's house”. As a side note interesting to see that the G16 opposition group chose to nominate a candidate from the West. This was a smart move on their part considering that in the past, the FijiFirst relied heavily on iTaukei support in the West and the grumbling still going on after the People’s Alliance meeting where the Tui Nadi’s nomination for President was ignored.

One also must wonder about the NFP. They chose to stick with their coalition partner and support Ratu Naiqama’s nomination. As a party relying largely on minority community support, this was an opportunity missed to highlight the fact that the constitution doesn’t specify that the position must be held by a High Chief. Their support, or not, wouldn’t have made a difference anyway but it would have made a point that their supporters would have appreciated. It does raise an issue for NFP as they look to 2026. Being a minority partner in a coalition, especially when you no longer hold any leverage, is thankless. The majority party typically gets all the credit, but you share the blame for the screw ups.

The last couple of weeks have featured two interesting interviews on Straight Talk with the Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua and the Leader of the Opposition Inia Seruiratu. In the first interview what was very apparent was the extreme frustration of the Minister in the excruciatingly slow appointment of the Police Commissioner. As he reminded us, law and order is at a crucial and very vulnerable stage particularly relating to the issue of drugs and yet the Constitutional Offices Commission has taken close to TWO YEARS to act. Oh, and by the way let’s not forget the still outstanding appointment of the Chief Justice amongst others!

Yes…. There was the issue of the prosecution of former PC Qiliho, but he was convicted and jailed in May. Applications went out in June, and we are now in November and still waiting. YB understands competent applications have been received including former Deputy, and for an extended period Acting Police Commissioner, Rusiate Tudravu so why the delay??? This just adds to an image of delays and dithering that plague the Coalition Government. In this case it is a little unfair as these appointments are the responsibility of the Constitutional Offices and Judicial Services Commission but in politics perception is a cruel mistress and it is what the voters “believe” that counts and, in their eyes, “guvment” is a single entity under direct control of the Prime Minister.

It was good to see Leader of the Opposition Inia Seruiratu in action on Straight Talk. While he has been active in Parliament, he has struggled to make an impact thanks to the “difficult’ transition of the former FijiFirst to the opposition benches. Nearly two years into the role he must navigate a fine line between being accountable for the failures of the previous Government and refocusing the voters onto the current Government and of course the next elections in 2026.

The G16 as they’re currently known are clearly not sitting still. While they await on their appeal against FijiFirst’s deregistration, they’re actively looking at the formation of a new party. YB did wonder why bother with the appeal after all as he admitted they would need to significantly rewrite their party constitution even if by some miracle they won their appeal. Better surely to just start again … oh and let’s not forget the outstanding financial debts of FF!!

The other dilemma in pure political terms is whether Mr Seruiratu has the charisma or mana to make the kind of impact you need to under our open list voting system. Don’t get us wrong, he spoke well, and he came across as a reasonable man who is passionate about all the right things but somehow, he just doesn’t quite have the X factor you need in modern politics. He has provided some relief from the excessively aggressive tactics masterminded by one Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum BUT as Donald Trump has proved nice guys do tend to finish last in politics.

It highlights the great mystery re the 2026 election ...... just who will the nearly 50% of Fiji Voters who supported FijiFirst in 2022 shift their allegiances to?? Right now, that is still an open question.