... again

Flosse forms new coalition ... again

By Al Prince

NEARLY six months after return ing to political power with a majority coalition government fol lowing Tahiti’s March Territorial As sembly elections, Territorial Govern ment President Gaston Flosse has formed a new coalition.

The move ended weeks of rumours about a change in government, and echoed the events of 1982.

Once again, Flosse’s victim was Emile Vernaudon, the mayor of Tahiti’s north coast Commune of Mahina and the only person ever to have defeated Flosse in an election the 1988 runoff for one of Tahiti’s two deputy seats in the French National Assembly.

This time Flosse did not abruptly dump Vernaudon as his majority co alition partner, as he did on September 21, 1982. This time Flosse claimed to be enlarging the majority coalition by signing an alliance with one of his oldest

political rivals, Papeete Mayor Jean Juventin. Announcing the alliance on September 11, he fired two cabinet ministers from Vernaudon’s party, re placing them with members ofjuventin’s party.

Flosse tried to justify his manoeuvres as a response to the population’s demand for an end to political divisions. He even claimed all opposition parties were welcome to join the majority coalition, behind the same political program.

None of the other leaders took up the offer. Vernaudon immediately an nounced he was joining the opposition and Dehors followed him, resigning as Flosse’s minister of environment, quality of living, culture and ground transpor tation. Flosse divided Dehors’s portfolios up among three other ministers.

When all the manoeuvring was completed, Flosse’s cabinet had in creased from eight to nine ministers, with members of Flosse’s party in three posts.

Vernaudon, now a member of the opposition, has announced he intends to fill out his one-year term as Territorial Assembly president until next March.

The 1982 Flosse-Vernaudon majority coalition lasted 117 days; the 1991 coalition lasted 159 days. Events suggest that both Flosse and Vernaudon cannot rule together for any great length of time.

Perhaps Flosse cannot rule with anyone he cannot dominate.

Meanwhile, as in 1982, Tahiti faces adopting a Territorial Government budget with a new Flosse majority coalition just a few months old. Nine years ago, Vernaudon suspended the Territorial Assembly’s budget session on December 28 until January, forcing the Flosse government to turn to an admin istrative tribunal to get the session resumed on January 8. Time will tell if the same scenario is repeated. □

Flosse: new allies, old routine