Caledonia's Gaullists
pp. 9-10 · Read in the full issue
Melanesians Beat New
From a Noumea correspondent
“. . . New Caledonia’s destiny and prosperity are tied to France and eventually to Europe. Doesn’t Britain’s entry to the Common Market present practically insoluble problems for Australia and New Zealand. Why would we go and link our destiny with that of these two countries?”
This was the kind of warning pro paganda issued by the anti-auto nomists during Caledonians’ recent voting in the French national elec tions. The anti-autonomist front, with the full encouragement of the French administration, this time gave the autonomists the toughest opposition they have ever faced in the election of a deputy to represent the island in Paris, Finally, it was the predominantly Melanesian vote from the inland and outer islands that brought victory to outgoing candidate, Melanesian Roch Pidjot, representing the internal self government movement. Anti-auto nomist candidate, Jean Leques, came 1,485 votes behind, in the final ballot of March 11. (There was a 71 per cent vote, with 38.612 voting out of 52,936 registered electors). It was the first time in more than 20 years that Caledonians had to face a second round of voting in the election of their deputy. In the past the Union Caledonienne party held such an un challenged majority that their can didate was usually elected outright in the first round.
In these latest elections, on March 4, Jean Leques came out on top in the first round, with a total of 16,040 out of the 37,296 votes cast. In second place came Roch Pidjot with 15,297 votes, followed by fellow autonomist and Melanesian Yann Celene Uregei (Union Multiraciale) with 4,058 votes. Henri Martinet, well known in local aviation and tourist circles, stood as independent, anti autonomist candidate and finished with 891 votes. In the second ballot, between the two poll leaders, Martinet gave no definite advice as to whom his supporters should follow, whereas Celene urged his party to vote for Pidjot.
From the sidelines, two Territorial Assembly members, Alain Bernut and’ his colleague, have now swung their lively weekly paper Voix du Cagou behind the autonomists. This new stand now gives the autonomists a I
majority of 19 to 16 in the Territorial Assembly.
As far as the anti-autonomist cam paign was concerned, the effects of pro-French administration propaganda from Noumea radio, press and TV were most evident in the capital—in the second ballot, Leques gained 65 per cent of the votes cast in Noumea, while Pidjot gained 64 per cent of the country vote.
Tele-Noumea does not extend far beyond Nepoui and Thio on each side of the island and although French Governor Louis Verger and his top public servants have been making frequent visits to inland areas and the offshore Loyalty Islands, the Melanesians in these regions have obviously retained their autonomist loyalty for Pidjot.
Paris originally planned to have Tele-Noumea cover the whole of New Caledonia by next year, although present budgetary problems are making this more difficult. However, the need for extended television coverage is one of the arguments advanced by the governor when he urges the local assembly to approve an extra private bank loan from Paris to help cover otherwise im possible development plans.
The French state-controlled radio and TV are very powerful tools in moulding local public opinion, draw ing closer identification with metro politan France. The major portion of programmes consists of news, interviews and films, prepared in France covering events in Europe.
There is little to suggest that New Caledonia forms part of the Pacific region or that it could have its own Pacific identity.
One of the recurring complaints of anti-administration political groups is the continued refusal of the French authorities to allow politicians from Caledonian parties to express their views over radio and TV, channels which are nevertheless used by metro politan French politicians and mem bers of the French public service in Noumea. This use of the state media was highlighted in France during the elections when, as the overseas press was quick to point out. President Georges Pompidou made a stirring declaration to French voters 12 hours after the official election campaign had ended. President Pompidou told
his fellow countrymen they had a clear choice to make between his opponents, the “Marxist Socialists”, and the Gaullists, protecting the freedom of the individual.
The division had teamed up with the Rejormateurs in France, while Leques had identified with the Gaullist allies in the PDM group.
Both men are quietly mannered and unassuming: the French active dis couragement of local political self determination has not helped produce any dynamic leader with the training or purposefulness noted in some other island leaders.
Under the French system, it is undeniably the unchanging bureau cracy, the public servants, who hold the most enduring power, and they make no secret of the fact. The public is accustomed to the image of govern ments and politicans who come and go. In this system, the politician thus becomes a link, the means by which the elector can obtain something from the powerful administration or civil service. This belongs to the whole French philosophy of the “art of wrangling”, of having what they call le bras long (a long arm), by which to pull strings for personal objectives.
One gets the impression that when a Frenchman goes to vote it is not just for the man who will fight for and defend his rights, but for the man through whom he believes he can reach the seat of power, to wrangle out some exceptional treatment.
For the Frenchman’s insistence on “individual liberty” includes the
cherished idea that he as an individual is entitled to gain something better than the common mob, if he can.
And it is this sustaining thought which props up the whole system of government and control by an elite, which is not the same notion as some other countries have of democracy and a “fair deal” for the common man.
Whether the paternalistic elite, by education or family, are more desirable rulers than those produced more strictly by the “democracy means mediocrity” method, is, of course, an interesting subject to debate.
Whatever the principles involved, the fact remains in New Caledonia that both sides in the recent elections invoked fears of the opposing regime.
For the autonomists, there is the fear of continuing elimination of Caledonians from responsible positions and an increasing domina tion by France, with policy carried out by public service chiefs obedient to the governor and Paris.
The anti-autonomists invoke the fear of disorder and unpredictable econo mic problems if close ties are not retained with France. There was no lack of material to support this uneasiness: while Australia and Indo nesia were announcing concrete plans to step up development of their nickel industries. New Caledonia’s mining activity, the island’s sole industry, somehow became more and more depressed. The SLN company con tinued to reduce staff, complained it could not reasonably continue to pay Caledonian taxes and talked of further production cutbacks. The administration backed this up with figures showing declines in the work
force, a drop in car registrations and general imports, a slow-down in the inflationary wages spiral, budgetary cutbacks for infrastructure works and so on. All this added gloom to the local business picture, in contrast to the rosy picture the French admini stration has been striving to create over previous years. The tumbling statistics were ideal ammunition for the anti-autonomists, who seized upon official scare reports to convince the Caledonians that their only way out of trouble was to depend on France’s generosity.
Where the autonomists blamed Paris bungling for at least part of the nickel industry mess, the anti-autonomists insisted that local stability and attach ment to France were essential in order to gain the confidence of big outside companies that have been talking, inconclusively, for years now about investing in new nickel factories on the island.
When the electoral tussle was over, Pidjot issued a press statement thank ing the Caledonians for voting him to victory despite the fact that “the governor and the racist press waged a violent campaign against me and in favour of my opponent. . . .”
But however much ideas may con flict, the March elections cannot be expected to bring any appreciable change to French policy in New Caledonia. The Gaullists have proved most effective in promoting the French economy. They can now be counted on to continue their efforts to con vince the Caledonians that their most satisfactory future lies in forgetting about internal self-government and instead entrusting their nickel wealth to the control of the Paris govern ment.
Miss
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An attractive ad dition to the Mel bourne Moomba Festival's Queen of the Pacific quest in March was Miss Papua New Guinea, Therese Ala'u. Aged 21, Therese comes from Manus, where she teaches at Christ the King School at Papitalai. She is wearing green snail shell jewellery from Manus. Twenty Mekeo dancers from the Kairuku people of Papua danced at the festival.