The Fijian people will know this weekend who will lead SODELPA into the next election in 2022 and, on present indications, the name of the country’s next prime minister. Because in the absence of any reform of the ruling FijiFirst Party to make it more competitive after its near defeat in 2018, Frank Bainimarama’s government is heading for … [Read more...] about # SODELPA CHOOSES ITS LEADER
# A TANGLED WEB OF SECRECY AND CONTROL (PT3) DONATIONS TO FIJIFIRST
The Opposition Leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, has embarked on an intriguing course of action by lodging a formal complaint with the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) about campaign donations made to the ruling FijiFirst Party. The action is not only going to test the genuine independence, transparency and accountability of FICAC but … [Read more...] about # A TANGLED WEB OF SECRECY AND CONTROL (PT3) DONATIONS TO FIJIFIRST
# UNHOLY STORM IN A TEACUP. CUI BONO?
“Diwali uproar” screamed the CJ Patel Fiji Sun, characteristically throwing more heat than light on the debate about the merits of daytime fireworks intruding on the Christian Sabbath during the Hindu Festival of Lights. Anyone glancing at the government-controlled Sun might have thought that temples were being desecrated or Hindu devotees set upon … [Read more...] about # UNHOLY STORM IN A TEACUP. CUI BONO?
# US AMBASSADOR TO PACK HIS BAGS
The American ambassador to Fiji, Joseph Cella, is destined to become one of the shortest serving US envoys after his patron, Donald Trump, was given his marching orders by the American people in the presidential election. As a political appointment, he will soon be replaced by either another political appointment chosen by the election victor, Joe … [Read more...] about # US AMBASSADOR TO PACK HIS BAGS
#RATTLED BY THE “SNAKE”
The Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, shows every sign of being rattled by Sitiveni Rabuka, judging from his extraordinary attack on him on Monday at the 20th anniversary commemoration of the mutiny at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks in November 2000. His description of Rabuka as a “snake” in a speech to the assembled members of the military … [Read more...] about #RATTLED BY THE “SNAKE”
#CHINA’S STRATEGY OF INTIMIDATION IN THE PACIFIC
The recent incident at Taiwan's national day celebration in Suva at which uninvited Chinese diplomats assaulted a Taiwanese official made headlines around the world. Yet even as the incident faded from the news cycle, the strategists whose business it is to keep an eye on China's ambitions in the region have been digesting its importance. Here's an … [Read more...] about #CHINA’S STRATEGY OF INTIMIDATION IN THE PACIFIC