FRANCIS NII | Supported by the South Pacific Strategic Solutions Writing Fellowship

YESTERDAY I INADVERTENTLY came across the biography of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare in Wikipedia.

As I browsed, the memory unfolded of the political impasse between the Grand Chief and the O’Neill-Namah regime that almost brought Australia’s closest neighbour and traditional friend, Papua New Guinea, into constitutional crisis and anarchy.

As reminiscence continued, I felt tranquility sweep through my being. The most turbulent period in the political history of PNG apart from the Bougainville crisis had come to an end with peace and stability.

As we celebrate the New Year, we are on course.

The impasse and its related events are now all water under the bridge - the enactment of the controversial judicial conduct laws, the ousting of the Grand Chief from Parliament and his East Sepik provincial seat (subsequently regained at the general election), the military fracas and the storming of the sanctuary of the National Court by Belden Namah in pursuit of the Chief Justice, Sir Salamo Injia.

Post election, the Grand Chief buried the hatchet in Alotau and aligned himself and his National Alliance MPs with the coalition parties and made his former rival Peter O’Neill the prime minister.

This humble act by the father of the nation prominently overshadowed all the outstanding constitutional references, court proceedings and other outstanding issues and paved the way for normalcy and stability.

As we know, PNG is the land of the unexpected and the most unfathomable and weirdest scenes can unfold in any circumstance whether cultural, commercial, ethical or political.

Moreover, in PNG society, personal virtues and morals at leadership level and among the citizenry are not really important compared with western and other societies.

Like most people, I first thought Somare’s u-turn decision was just one of those expect-the-unexpected PNG styles of response to circumstances and issues.

But as I continued to take knowledge of his entire biography, my conscience was troubled.

My mind was searching. How could the longest serving politician in the Commonwealth, the father of the nation, the warrior in his own right and the Sukundumi (the river god) of the Sepiks stoop that low and align himself with the rival under whose administration his personal reputation, clout and dominance were tarnished, humiliated, dragged and muddied?

How could he suddenly forgive him and  join him as a friend?

Maybe he didn’t have a third and better option.

However, in my pondering for a palatable rationale, another question popped up: Had the political marriage between Peter O’Neill’s People’s National Congress Party and Belden Namah’s PNG Party continued into the July general elections and the formation of the new government, would the Grand Chief bury the hatchet and reconcile with them?