Tonga's first Demo to Act as Prime Minister [1]
Friday, April 22, 2005 - 16:50. Updated on Friday, May 2, 2014 - 11:07.
EDITOR'S COMMENT
by Pesi Fonua
The sudden rise of Dr Feleti Sevele to a prominent position in Cabinet, as Acting Prime Minister, this week is food for thought, taking into consideration that he is a full-blooded Demo who has been pushing for political changes in Tonga for years.
During his campaign for the March Parliamentary election, Feleti has strongly advocated for all 30 members of parliament to be elected by the people, then for the Prime Minister to select his ministers from the elected members.
Feleti is said to be one of the architects of a petition that protest-marchers will present to the King on May 7, demanding the relinquishing to government of some of the assets that formed the back-bone of the key businesses of the Crown Prince Tupouto'a and Princess Pilolevu, such as the electric power supply, the internet .to domain address, and Tonga's orbital slots.
With this in mind, Feleti appears to have been put in a position where he can initiate the changes that he has been talking about.
On the other hand, his sudden elevation may be seen as a move to fill a vacuum that was left by Clive Edwards, as the government's Front Man, and a person who is eager to get things done and to please his superiors. In the end, Feleti is treading a fine line - he needs the support of the people who elected him, but now he owes his position to the throne, and may end up pleasing no one.
We don...t have to compare the quality of the two men, but Cabinet has always needed the leadership or the input of a "Good Operator", and now that Feleti is the man of the moment, he could be the person that Tonga has been waiting for to advance our political evolution.