Editor,

CONGRATULATION to the new PM and congratulations also to PTOA and the rest of the parliamentary team for conducting themselves with dignity as part of bedding in the new system.

We have heard from the people and we've now heard from their representatives and we will soon hear from our PM on who will help him hold the reins of power in government. Relevant but hardly ever mentioned in these debates is the need for good opposition to keep government honest and to the task. Democracy works best for everyone if those who govern and those in opposition are both competent. Without denigrating 'Akilisi Pohiva or the senior members of PTOA in any way, his proven track record in keeping an ever watchful eye on those in power would have been missed if he were to be Prime Minister because he is unable to be both.

There has already been a call for unity - which was politically premature because it couldn't be done prior to a PM being appointed or elected. Unity is a difficult ask in this new environment whereas seeking stability offers better scope to be able to deliver on. When we asked for a more democratic form of government we were also asking for political divides to exist and in fact to flourish. Seeking to diminish that for no other reason than to make everyone feel good is like setting up a game of rugby to be played and both sides turn up to play for, rather than against each other.

The default position for the nobles is to be conservative. Tonga's economic and social needs require more radical and progressive policies. But these two positions are not mutually exclusive. The nobles will only ever govern if they have people's representatives to guarantee a majority as we've seen. People's representatives who will be accountable to their electorates will bring into the nobles' political platform demands which have to be met if the nobles were to retain PRs support of power and influence. The Vava'u MPs will most likely show how this will be done. It is also a fact that the nobles will stand to gain too if overall, Tongan society prospers. So in spite of their default position, the nobles are not incapable of seeing what needs to be done and to be able to respond. It has helped that many of them have had tertiary education and are capable individuals in their own right.

We couldn't have asked for a better monarch under which these changes be brought about. Had this been under his late father - and hindsight does tell us that it would never have happened - the nobles' attitudes may have found themselves between a rock and a hard place. The clear signals from George V was for a more participatory regime and there is expectation for social and economic good to flow from it.

Political divides has been part of Tongan politics for centuries and we're entering into political arrangements which just rearranges the dividing lines but they remain nevertheless - and some are more marked and prominent in more interesting ways than we've seen before such as the Vava'u election results and consequential to that. The nobles with their rank, status, land holdings and resources can be a force for good or to the contrary under these arrangements. Limit or threaten their survival as a species and they are unlikely to be a force for good. We will see over the next four years whether they are capable of lifting their game so that our citizenry can see them as capable and dependable leaders who, in spite of their rank and status, can also live up to everyone's expectations.

The larger number of people's representatives and the accountability of members to their electorates will have an effect on how Cabinet will behave now irrespective of who is Prime Minister. Given our dire economic circumstances and the current social and political expectations throughout the country and in Tongatapu in particular, Tu'ivakano's government is in for a challenging four years but it can make headway very quickly if it gets its priorities right and that it is prepared to roll its sleeves up and work differently from previous governments.

Some of our more able minds and talents who tried but didn't make it into the House should not be overlooked. Tu'ivakano can invite them to his Cabinet as he will need the most able and most experienced to help deliver his government's policies and to build an effective power bloc into the future. But there is also an opportunity here for the PM to extend a conciliatory hand across the political divide - even if a a role as Minister for Anti-Corruption Practices is turned down by Akilisi

So far all that I've expected from the system that we've wished for has come into being. While it isn't perfect, it has been a relatively smooth transition so far and for that I'm optimistic.

Sefita Hao'uli

sefita [dot] haouli [at] gmail [dot] com ( sefita [dot] haouli [at] gmail [dot] com)