THE biggest

Editorial

A rose by any other name ...

fear, after the Fiji Labour Party won an outright majority in last month’s elections, was that the aggressive minority, may cause trouble. The overhwleming concern was a repeat of the 1987 coup

de tat, when the FLP was last elected to power.

Although there were some outspoken Fijians who did not want Chaudhry to be prime minister, the majority of people just wanted Labour to be given a chance to get on with the business to governing.

As it stood, Chaudhry not only sur prised everyone by appointing a Fijian dominated cabinet, but he has managed to get the President on side, as well quell initial distrust of his motives to be PM.

Chaudhry has shown himself to be a sea soned politician, sensitive to the under currents to make up Fiji.

With his trade union background, he has commanded the support of workers of every race in Fiji, and, he says, it is the workers who are his interest now.

This can only be good for Fiji, where a small minority of people are rich, and the greater majority, poor.

Chaudhry may prove to be the best decision that Fiji’s voters have made in

recent years. In a time of

rapidly increasing globalisa

tion, any worker would want a unionist as the prime minis ter.

Fiji, it seems, is no different to Australia, New Zealand, Britain and even Israel in this respect, for in those countries too Labour governments com

mand a big majority. As many workers have found in the past, it does not matter what race or colour their union leader is, as long as he or she fights for worker’s rights. Even Chaudhry (an avid rose gar dener) knows that by any other name, his plants would smell as sweet. So too, the people of Fiji may find that, Indian or Fijian, a person who has their best inter ests at heart is their best representative. ■