Politicians must know that elections will happen soon – this year rather than in 2026 as expected.

 Individuals are enlisting already as candidates. It must be quite exciting, especially for those who have never held down a professional job or know how the government systems work, read government documents dealing with public policies or pursue bills before the House. All of that does not matter to many as we see with the present crop of members of parliament.

What matters is winning and getting a salary, for some of them it is the first time in their life, and people call them “Your Honourable.” Oh, and it is even better when one gets appointed as a minister or associate minister and given a government vehicle for his personal use that taxpayers refuelled every second day for their family to run their errands and work their taro batches,

Leader of the Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party. La’auli Schmidt says that 14 new candidates have signed up with his Party presumably to contest seats held by those MPs loyal to Prime Minister Fiamē, and that they have already laid down the foundation for their campaign strategy – it’s likely to be similar to that which got them elected except perhaps for a new leadership slogan that says: “Ask not what you can do for our country, but what our country can do for me.”

The Party’s long-term economic development plan for the country, one suspects, will also be identical to the one in their current manifesto. “Don’t have one!” The reason is it gets in the way of ministers’ globe-trotting schedules and the Party’s fund-raising agenda overseas. And what will the Party manifesto say about our national interests? “Interests of the Leader are our national interests.”

The Human Rights Protection Party has started its register of candidates, but they are not saying much about how they will approach the next elections. However, one thing is certain. This time around, they will have only one candidate contesting each electorate. They have learnt their lesson. One area they may need to also consider is reducing the number of better-educated candidates by encouraging the less educated and the illiterates to run to give Parliament an even playing field. Just look at how successful FAST was with very few candidates with a tertiary-level education.

The trouble with the better-educated members is that they tend to be more conscientious, disciplined, and effective in discharging their responsibilities and they also come prepared for parliamentary and House committee meetings. Attracting these people to Parliament may be good for democracy but our politics these days, exacerbated by the recent split between FAST’s two factions, and the Prime Minister’s refusal to resign despite her government being deemed by those who understand the Constitution as unconstitutional, have caused some people to compare it to a limbo dance contest. The lower you go the better you are as a leader.

HRPP leadership is different. The leader is more like Buddha sitting cross-legged on higher grounds with arms folded looking out over his people urging them to follow the rules and abide by the principles that he had laid down to guide their behaviour and actions. That angers those who see it as controlling and dictatorial. However, it must be working because, from the outside, the party has been stable since it was founded nearly 50 years ago.

As for Prime Minister Fiamē and her ministers' future pathway, it is a matter of deciding whether to form a new party, join a minor one like the Tautua, run as independent candidates or even link up with Minister of Health Valasi Tafito Selesele to resuscitate the Samoan Development Party (SNDP). They need to move quickly as the Supreme Court may soon rule that her government is unconstitutional thereby forcing early elections.

Joining the Tautua Party could be problematic as its leader, Afualo Dr Wood Salele is not only an academic, but he is also very much against unethical and corrupt politicians. Its Manifesto for the 2021 Elections set out its position clearly on ‘The Rule of Law and Pursuit of Justice’: “An Anti-Corruption Tribunal [will be set up] to investigate corruption in government ministries and the country.” I wonder if that is the reason some of its former members like “Olo Va’ai left to join the EFKS-backed FAST. You cannot promote ethical and anti-corruption principles and actions as your party’s goal without riling those whose modus operandi for entering politics is to promote their self-interest rather than those of the country.

The same situation may arise also if Prime Minister Fiamē and her members want to run under SNDP’s umbrella. Launching their Party in September 2020, its leader, Vui Seigafolava Masinamua warned anyone who wanted to contest an electorate for their Party: “…the first thing is that they should not just want to become a Member of Parliament, or for the advancement of his family…We do not want those kinds of people. We only have one goal: Serve Samoa.”

It is a very noble goal but the problem with our new crop of politicians is that they are more interested in their being served first and given the best and the most before anyone else.

If Prime Minister Fiamē and her cohorts form a new party, what will they call themselves? “FAST’s Rejects?”, “FAST Terminators?”  “The Globetrotters?”,

When it comes to political leadership, antiquated people like me miss the style of old. It has faded with the passing away of great leaders like Fiamē Matā’afa Mulinu’ū II and Malietoa Tanumafili II. They were leaders who cared more for the people and were more interested in their being of value to them than being successful materially and politically.

And their humility caused everyone to respect them. A friend from Fa’atoia relayed to me a story of how “Old Man” Malietoa was driving his golf cart down Lelata Road when traffic started to pile up behind him despite there being plenty of room for them to overtake as he was driving on the side of the road. He waved them to overtake him, but no one would move. That was until he turned his cart off the road when he arrived at his destination.

How things have changed!!