THE PRESS THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1985. Western Samoa leadership

Press, 25 July 1985, Page 12

THE PRESS THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1985. Western Samoa leadership

The crisis in the Western Samoan Government appears to be over, at least for the moment. The trickiest period was in the middle of this month when a group of Parliamentarians, believed to number 27 out of the 47 members of the Legislative Assembly which is known as the Fono, was apparently prepared to have a vote of no confidence in the Government of Mr Tofilau Eti. The motion of no confidence did not go to a vote because the Speaker brought the debate to an end before all the members had spoken. Mr Tofilau said that he would not have resigned as Prime Minister, even if the vote had gone against him. He has since gone to the Head of State and asked him to dissolve the Fono. The Head of State refused, so Mr Tofilau remains as Prime Minister. The Fono does not need to meet again until about November, so Mr Tofilau appears safe until then. The effect of what has happened is that Mr Tofilau has bought time. He came within an ace of being ousted. By November he no doubt hopes to whittle down the numbers of those who would support a vote of no confidence. No doubt he will use patronage both within the Fono and in the whole of Western Samoa to regain support. The crisis came about more from wrangling within the Fono than it did from any substantial swing against Mr Tofilau in the country. In a General Election in February the Human Rights Protection Party, led by Mr Tofilau, won 31 of the 47 seats. Given time, the support for Mr Tofilau in the country may persuade members of the Legislative Assembly to withdraw their support for the noconfidence motion. The genesis of the crisis is to be found in

the events after the election in 1982. That election was the first to be conducted along party political lines. The Human Rights Protection Party was then led by Mr Va’ai Kolone. Technically all the members of the Fono stood as independents, not as members of a particular political party, and they voted as such in the selection of the Prime Minister. Intense lobbying occurred for the Prime Ministership and the election for that office was delayed for 45 days. In the end Mr Va’ai Kolone was chosen. Mr Tofilau Eti became Deputy Prime Minister. The outgoing Prime Minister was Mr Tupuola Taisi Efi. In the middle of 1982, however, the Va’ai Government lost its majority when the Supreme Court upheld an electoral petition to unseat the Minister of Education. Mr Va’ai Kolone himself lost his seat when the Court upheld the view that there had been irregularities in his election campaign. Mr Tupuola took over as Prime Minister and Mr Tofilau became leader of the Human Rights Protection Party. The position changed again late in 1982 when the Tupuola Government lost its majority in a by-election and Mr Tofilau Eti became Prime Minister. Mr Va’ai who had been instrumental in establishing the Human Rights Protection Party wanted the party leadership back. Mr Va’ai had re-entered the Fono but did not become a member of the Government. He is now an opponent of Mr Tofilau Eti and formed part of the group which tried to topple him. Party allegiance appears to be less important in Western Samoa than personal loyalty. Mr Tofilau still retains the power and will doubtless use the office to try to shore up his personal popularity.