Frank Bainimarama has finally broken cover to confirm what Grubsheet first reported six months ago – that he is the force behind the newly-formed One Nation party, along with his trusty lieutenant, Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum.
Bainimarama – who won far more votes than anyone else at the 2022 election – can’t contest the coming poll because of the prison sentence he has already served and faces two further judgments in the courts, including on a charge of inciting mutiny in the military.
Yet he, Khaiyum and their supporters believe the former prime minister will be a potent force as the public face of One Nation and enable it to capitalise on his undoubted continuing popularity
They are targeting what they call “The Quiet Majority “. And the former prime minister is clearly going to be everywhere in this campaign, judging from a slickly-produced video clip on the One Nation Facebook page.
In it, Frank pushes all the old FijiFirst buttons – unity, equality and a return to the standards of service delivery that characterised his leadership.
It is a clear attempt to tap nostalgia for the stability of the Bainimarama years and underlines at least one of his strengths – to convincingly master the autocue.
NOTE: If you have trouble opening this (and there appears to be a glitch), it is on the One Nation and Radio Tarana Facebook pages. My apologies. It seems I may not be able to share the link because I am banned from Facebook on a complaint by Lynda Tabuya.
Yet four months out from the election – assuming we can believe Sitiveni Rabuka when he says it will be when the Constitution stipulates (before the end of the first week in February) – One Nation is a ship without a designated captain.
Faiyaz Koya and Tupou Draunidalo are on the bridge trying to give the party a semblance of direction but we still don’t know who is going to lead.
It can’t be Frank but could it be Aiyaz? According to the latest rumours, the former attorney general still hasn’t made up his mind about whether to run. Why? Because he too is facing two separate court judgments and may also find himself behind bars.
Then there is his uncertain health – the cardiac arrhythmia for which he has tried and failed to get his bail conditions varied to obtain treatment overseas. Both challenges are evidently making Aiyaz balk at committing to spearhead One Nation’s assault on the parliament, though on the party’s website, there’s every sign that he is leader-in-waiting.
Yet how long can the prevarication continue? When is One Nation going to settle on one leader with the capacity under the d’Hondt system to get over the five per cent threshold and take the rest of his colleagues into government?
These are questions currently coming into sharp focus with potential donors, who are being asked to contribute to One Nation not knowing who is going to lead the party.
Seriously. Why would anyone commit to giving One Nation anything – let alone $10,000 a year – without knowing the identity of the parliamentary leader and being able to form a judgment on whether they are capable of winning?
That’s what is being asked at the top levels of business by the big names who once contributed to FijiFirst but want to know a lot more before they – and their family members short of the dog – again part with their hard-earned moola.
All of which means that until it genuinely gets its act together, One Nation is a ship drifting aimlessly among all the other dozen or so vessels in election waters which hope to get voters on board.
That number is rumoured to include a new party that has yet to break cover headed by Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Filipo Tarakinikini, and including the likes of the colourful former Rabuka supporter, Shailendra Raju.
And there’s another question being asked among potential One Nation supporters that is even more pertinent. Why should anyone vote for Frank and Aiyaz (or their minions ) when they petulantly withdrew from the parliament after they got the most votes in 2022 but fell short by one vote on the floor of the house?
They seem to be blissfully unaware that their monumental hissy fit is a major issue with a lot of their former supporters – that because of their hubris and self-obsession, the nation has been deprived of a genuinely effective opposition for the past four years.
Here’s what former supporters are saying: That had Frank and Aiyaz stuck it out, not only might the Coalition’s excesses been curbed but they would now be poised to roar back in a landslide over the carcass of Rolex Rambo’s rabble.
Had Frank remained opposition leader and Aiyaz deputy opposition leader, they may also have escaped their ordeals in the courts. Why? Because Fiji’s donors – and especially Australia and New Zealand – would undoubtedly have taken a dim view of an incoming government prosecuting sitting MPs and especially opposition leaders. It’s just not done in proper democracies.
Have Frank and Aiyaz shown any remorse at all about the folly of them taking home their bat and ball and leaving us with Inia Seruiratu for the past four years? Of triggering the implosion of FijiFirst and enabling their bitter enemy, the “Snake”, to pick off enough of their remaining MPs to give him the numbers to destroy their central legacy – the 2013 Constitution?
Has anyone seen “sorry about that” yet? Was that another pig flying over Suva? So no mea culpa, no apology and no designated leader for their new party yet the Bobbsey Twins are suddenly in our faces again asking for our votes and our money.
We’ll find out soon enough if ” The Quiet Majority” are impressed. But right now, they’d better get their act together and find a credible leader or abject humiliation awaits.
__________________________
Make no mistake. The old double act is trying to make a comeback. Yet it ain’t with a bang but a whimper.
Long time ago when we woz fab.
We first identified the leadership problem back in March when One Nation was FijiansFirst, which was subsequently disallowed by the Elections Office because the name is so close to FijiFirst.
UPDATED WITH NOTE TO READERS:
We are still being plagued by comments posted by the same person using multiple email address without realising that I can immediately see that they are from the same source – from the same IP address.
Take a look at all of these just this morning – all pro-Coalition, of course.
I may be stupid but I’m not that stupid. Sheesh.
Straight to the trash. Byee!
Frank still has a very solid following and carries a lot of voter appeal. The level is dissatisfaction amongst the people with the current state of affairs in Fiji,
There are pressing issues such as cost of living, HIV and drug crisis, failing essential services and general economic direction.
The current focus on constitutional reform, national identity and other matters while important, merely acts as a diversion to the real challenges people face on a day to day basis
People are looking for solutions to the problems and challenges they face and the silent majority Frank refers to are those people and they are multi ethnic.
One Nation still however, as you say, needs to put forward an excellent leadership team and a credible action plan which will deliver what the country needs
While the Fiji First legacy had some great achievements, there were short comings also
People will need to be confident that lessons were learnt. When you point to past achievements, you also need to address past failures and learnings from those failures including corrective measures put in place
One Nation can be a credible force once we have clarity on the issues raised in your post.
Time is running out as the election nears and it will be interesting to see how much of Frank’s voter appeal and historical votes translates into actual support for One Nation.
Not forgetting the current bigot and the big tent circus of baboons he leads: https://youtube.com/watch?v=_UXCLzIb5KA&si=pBVpS4sDJnt30VsO
Vinaka for this. Very timely viewing.
I would vote any party Bainimarama backs over the spineless kaafadd coward Biman whom i voted for last elections, or the snake Rabuka who has shown his true colors after getting into parliament.
Lest we forget……
https://youtu.be/PZrcUf62430?si=0uU_kI7cV-fV8_gn