Party politics has finally put to rest the age-old ‘born to rule’ myth of the past, is the last line of Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi’s foreword of his memoir with Dr Peter Swain, published in 2017, a year after the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) won 47 of the 50 parliamentary seats.

The memoir hails the election result as a record achievement with the opposition party being demolished in the process.

We were given an overwhelming mandate by the people to execute our policies over the next five years. I face a huge challenge as leader of the HRPP and leader of government to deliver on promises set out in our 2016 General Election Manifesto, a process we have faithfully followed since the HRPP won its first election in 1982 and in eight successive general elections.

After 40 years in power, the HRPP were justly proud of their success as was their leader, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi (Tuilaepa), after more than a quarter of a century as prime minister. 

The HRPP was thus on a high when they headed for the 2021 elections. They even predicted they would win more than 40 seats in the new parliament.

It was therefore a shock, to put it mildly, when the HRPP won only twenty-five (25) seats and lost power when the one independent member joined the Opposition, the newly formed Faatuatua-i-le-Atua Samoa-ua-tasi (FAST) political party.

The turmoil of the constitutional crisis caused when the HRPP refused to allow a peaceful transfer of power, is now an unsavoury episode of Samoa’s political history.

The refusal led to numerous court cases and findings of contempt of court, and later contempt of parliament; and, later still, a very long suspension of the country’s longest-serving prime minister, as well as the second longest-serving incumbent prime minister in the world; only behind Cambodia’s Hun Sen, at the time of his electoral defeat in 2021.

Although unexpected, the defeat should not have been surprising. Well before Tuilaepa’s shock defeat, there was the unexpected defeat of the country’s first prime minister, Fiame Mata’afa Mulinu’u II, (Fiame) in 1970. 

After three successive terms as unopposed leader of the government, it was not expected that he would be toppled from his position.

But a plan to unseat Fiame had been hatched several months before the elections. It involved the new tama-a-aiga, Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV (Tupua), who had been given the title following the death of Tupua Tamasese Mea’ole, the joint head of state. 

Tupua had to resign from the Council of Deputies and a safe seat had to be found for him to enter parliament. All this was done at meetings and discussions over drinks at the Mount Vaea nightclub. That is why I call the unseating of Fiame – the Mount Vaea Coup.

The Mount Vaea nightclub is a well-known meeting place for politicians and other community and business leaders. It was owned by Hon. Teoteo Asiasi’au Tiatia Sauso’o Fonoti Brown, a former M.P. and son of Fonoti Mata’utia Ioane Brown, of Lotofaga, Atua, one of the political heavyweights of the pre-independence times.

After the 1970 elections, there were three nominations for the P.M.’s job – Fiame, Tupua and Tupuola Efi. There was grumbling at Tupuola’s nomination by those who held only tama-a-aiga should hold the top positions in government. 

That is why, these people said, Malietoa and Tupua Tamasese were joint Heads of State and Mataafa was PM. But Mataafa denied he was PM because he was a tama-a-aiga as he was in parliament as Fiame.

A keen supporter of Tupuola Efi, holder of a non-tama-a-aiga title, for the post, Pilia’e Iuliano, minced no words when he snapped: So they take the head, the torso and the rest, and where do the rest of the country go? 

Tuilaepa did not explain the ‘born to rule’ myth that is cited above but I take it that he was referring to this long-held belief that only tama-a-aiga were to hold the top posts in government.

How this myth may have developed is not clear but whether it was party politics that finally put it to rest is debatable. After all myth (mythos) the authorities say, was associated with the spoken word (which Greek poets imagined as a bird fluttering from one person’s lips to another’s ears).

Will Tuilaepa’s words flutter onto many ears? Keep listening.