NA IN DISCUSSION TO JOIN O'NEILL GOVT.


by BRYAN KRAMER MP

High-level discussions are underway between National Alliance (NA) Party Leader and Peter O'Neill to join O'Neill Abel Government.

Inside sources have alleged Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has made an offer of 7 Ministries to the NA block to convince them to join his Government. NA caucus are meeting late this afternoon to consider the offer.

If true why would O'Neill be so desperate to have his former Treasurer Patrick Pruaitch back in his ranks.

It is not the first time O'Neill has desperately tried to lure NA block across the floor, four other attempts failed resulting in two NA Members breaking from their party joining PNC.

NA returned from the 2017 elections with 15 MPs, 4 defected to join Government. They included:

Member of Ijivitari Open Richard Masere (joined PNC);
Member of Kerema Open - Richard Mendani (joined URP);
Member of Maprik Open - John Simon (joined PNC);
Member of Usino Bundi - Jimmy Uguro (joined PNC).

The remaining NA 11 MPs include;

1. Party Leader - Patrick Pruaitch
2. Governor of East Sepik - Allan Bird
3. Namatani Open - Walter Schnaubelt
4. South Bougainville Open - Timothy Maisu
5. North Bougainville Open - William Nakin
6. Bogia Open - Robert Naguri
7. Kavieng Open - Ian Ling Stuckey
8. Nuku Open - Joe Sungi
9. Huon Gulf Open - Ross Seymour
10. Angoram Open - Waipo Salio
11. Kairiku-Hiri Open - Peter Isoaimo

More importantly with only 11 MPs why offer 7 Ministries when PANGU with 15 MPs was offered only 4 Ministries to join Government and ended up with 2.

Further, where will these 7 Ministries come from?

Information coming out of Government ranks suggest 3 will come from PPP. It's claimed if NA joins Government, Chan will be kicked out.

So is there any truth in it?

Fact - NA are meeting this afternoon to consider the offer made by O'Neill, a fact I've confirmed from three independent sources.

Will Chan and PPP be stripped of their Ministries and kicked out of O'Neill Government?

In my view Julius Chan is the biggest threat to O'Neill in the lead up to the Vote of No Confidence. By bringing in NA it allows O'Neill to make a move to isolate Chan and dismantle PPP.

PPP has only 5 MPs but yet holds 3 key Ministries

1) Party Leader - Julius Chan;
2) Wewak Open (Minister of Provincial Affairs) - Kevin Isifu;
3) Kokopo Open (Minister of Toursim) Emil Tammur;
4) Kainantu Open (Minister of Mining)ENC Johnson Tuke;
5) Nakikus KONGA PPP PPP East New Britain Provincial.

Would the three PPP MPs abandon their Party and Leader to join O'Neill's PNC Party in the effort to keep their Ministry Portfolios and the K21,000 fortnight pay that comes with it including the perks and privileges funded by the Departments they are responsible for?

The only reason they were able to secure the Ministry in the first instance was because of Chan's political foresight to join O'Neill in the lead up to the formation of Government. Chan decimated by NA, losing the open seats of New Ireland, Kavieng and Namatanai Seats to his old political rivals, Ling-Sutcky and Schnaubelt. Chan almost lost his own regional seat to the NA regional candidate, Michael Singan by a margin of only 1,600 votes.

So what makes Chan such a threat?

Chan has strong political alliance with Paias Wingti including Governor of Enga Peter Ipatas both of whom are unhappy about being brushed aside by O'Neill following his new found friendship with Basil.

The combination of Chan Wingti and Ipatas could form a block within the Highlands Region. Chan a founding father of the Country and former Prime Minister still commands a degree of respect from many MPs.

O'Neill was able to keep Wingti busy in the last term by funding his major infrastructure development projects in the Western Highland Province. However, now that the country is broke and Wingti of little threat, O'Neill has put him out to pasture.

Ipatas, who was once part of O'Neill's inner circle, even abandoned his own party (Peoples Party) with hopes of succeeding O'Neill in the event he was forced to step aside following his arrest.

The fact is O'Neill never had any intentions to step down, it was only an issue of who was dumb enough to believe him.

So where to now?

I don't think NA is dumb enough to believe they would receive 7 Ministries if they defected to Government, although the fact they are having an urgent caucus meeting confirms whatever the offer is, they are taking it seriously.

So what options are there for NA.

On account O'Neill has been accused of being a pathological liar, I would get O'Neill to publicly announce he has stripped PPP of its 3 Ministers before accepting the offer. There is a real risk of ending up looking rather stupid to cross the floor only to end up with just one.

So what happens if NA decides to move across?

Well, it would in my view split the party where the likes of Bird and Sungi maybe reluctant to move.

The move may also trigger discussions between PPP (5) and URP (12), add NA (11) to those discussions and you have formidable team to bring down O'Neill even before a Vote of No Confidence.

The fact O'Neill had to pull the recent bill because he didn't have the full support of his coalition members confirms he is on shaky ground.

A further point of contention is whether he even consulted his coalition members before striking a deal with NA - interesting times ahead.

While some may claim it means the opposition is a lost cause, think again, the effect of his move will create greater instability within the Government ranks with Vote of No Confidence 4 months away.

Comments

  1. PNG Not Cheap Anymore!September 20, 2018 at 11:05 AM

    If you are always in the wrong you wont continue forever. You have to stand to the test of time.

    ReplyDelete

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