Pacific

Islands

Monthly

Opinion

Who’s our man?

IT’S that time of the year again when the phone rings and people ask: who will be the Pacific Man of the Year?

Mara? Ona? Lange? It’s still anyone’s race. The field, however, is getting smaller. In the end it won’t be easy.

It’s hard to pick a winner in a field of favourites.

How do you pick a Pacific Man of the Year? There are no set rules. What wins most credit is news impact. A few names come to mind: Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, interim prime minister of post coup Fiji, has led his country back from the brink of economic disaster into an envious position in the Pacific Islands. Such a remarkable achievement puts him high up on the list of those still in the race.

Francis Ona will never win a medal in Papua New Guinea. But his rebellion in the jungles of Bougainville has focussed world attention on his country. He might be a fugitive but he has certainly been news most of this year.

Philip Muller, director of the Forum Fisheries Agency, has succeeded in bringing world attention to the use of driftnets in the South Pacific tuna fisheries.

Rabbie Namaliu, as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, probably has the most difficult job in the region.

A rebellion, two assassinations, and a shaky economy have brought out the best in him. He is tough.

Not many leaders voluntarily give up power to bring unity to his party. David Lange did as Prime Minister of New Zealand. And in doing so he’s won more friends.

Does it need to be a man? No. We can have a Pacific Woman of the Year. But who? □