Flosse in surprising comeback

By Al Prince

GASTON Flosse’s opposition politi

cal party showed surprising strength in French Polynesia’s March 17 Territorial Assembly election by capturing 18 of the lagislative body’s 41 seats. This was a major comeback for Flosses party, which was ousted from power in December 1987 after having controlled French Polynesia’s Territorial Government since March 1982.

In the March 17 election, Flosse’s , , r c par >noon y pro i e rom a . per cen union among e , 6 regis tered voters in this French Overseas Terntoty, but also from a hoped for c ange m government indicated by 55 per cent of the voters. As a result of that change sought by voters, a pre-election alliance formed between the political parties headed by incumbent Territorial r* * y, A A 1 , Government President Alexandre Leontieff and Territorial Assembly Presi dent Jean Juventin won a disappointing SCa Leontieff was a key member of Flosse s governments from 1982 -1987.

The biggest defeat suffered on March 17 by one of the former Leontieff majority coalition parties involved the moderate independence party headed by Jacqui Drollet. That party lost all three of its Territorial Assembly seats.

Partially benefiting from that defeat was the hard core independence party of Oscar Temaru. After having won its first two seats in the 1986 Territorial As sembly election, Temaru’s party doubled that score on March 17 by capturing four seats.

The remaining five seats in the latest election were won by Emile Vemaudon, who had only one seat going into the election. Vemaudon, like Leontieff, is one of French Polynesia’s two deputies in the French National Assembly in Paris.

The March 17 election involved a record number of 57 lists of candidates, compared to 41 in 1986.

Following the latest election, Flosse repeated a political strategy that back fired on him in 1982 by forming a coalition of 23 seats with former bitter adversary Vemaudon. The Flosse-

Vemaudon coalition in 1982 lasted only 110 days.

But two post-election surprises were orchestrated by the new opposition group headed by Leontieff and Juventin.

During an election of the Territorial Assembly’s new president on March 28, that opposition group voted with the majority coalition for Vemaudon, giving him a record 37 votes. The four remain ing votes were cast for Temaru, the only other candidate.

The second post-election surprise oc curred on March 30 when the Leontieff- Juventin opposition group and Temaru’s party boycotted a Territorial Assembly session called to elect a new Territorial Government President. The assembly lacked the required three-fifths quorum (25 occupied seats) when one of two members who had switched from the opposition to the majority coalition after the March 17 election did not show up.

With only 24 members present, newly elected Territorial Assembly President Vemaudon was forced to reschedule the election of a Territorial Government President until April 4, when only a simple majority of members present would be required.

The expected candidates were Flosse, Leontieff and Temaru. □