Mataeliga Pio Sioa
‘Either you’re with us or against us.’
This was always the unofficial rule for the HRPP harking all the way back to the Tofilau Eti Alesana era.
Fiame knowingly broke that and knowingly owned up to the consequences too.
Did she really feel strongly enough against the proposed constitutional changes to the Lands and Titles Court to walk away from her political comfort zone?
Was it truly worth trashing a genuine shot at being the next Prime Minister after Tuilaepa?
What if she is taking a short cut to get there quicker?
These are the questions and many many more starting to fly around already after the drama of her Friday resignation.
When the shock of her voluntary departure finally settled the surprise was not really a surprise.
When Tuilaepa said Fiame must go after she rejected the constitutional amendments, it was not the first time he said that publicly about his deputy.
The first is in a recent Parliament session when Fiame did not agree with new amendments to the Electoral Act. He also said the same to the other two MPs who are no longer welcome in the party.
Was Fiame pushed too far or was there a bigger kettle boiling that finally boiled over behind the Cabinet doors that we did not and still do not know of ?
Is Fiame a central figure in a bigger political plot to bring the HRPP down in the 2021 election polls?
Is she the mystery redeemer the HRPP outcasts were taunting the PM with recently?
The hushed up murmur of political posturing and unseen string pulling are starting to take shape, so maybe there is some truth to the plot conspiracy.
All eyes are now on the former Deputy PM who has to sit out quietly the remaining months of Parliament as either an HRPP back-bencher or an independent MP.
If she is indeed going to lead any opposition crusade to wrest power from the HRPP then it will have to be CIA style for now – all under the shadows of secrecy.
If there is indeed an elaborate plot ‘thickening’ in the dark corners of political intrigue, Samoa is too small a place to keep it quiet for long.
Much of what will come out from hereon until Parliament closes are all talk as the pieces of the political chessboard are quietly moved into place.
What now hangs as the million tala question in the Fiame blowup is how much damage has it done to the HRPP unruffled composure?
We won’t know that until the final outcome of the election polls next April. But nothing is stopping us from enjoying the fun of all the speculations of who is what with whom and what is whom doing with what.
The target is the Government of course but here is a timely reminder. Tuilaepa and Co. are not sitting around twiddling their thumbs and picking their noses.
After the party caucus on Friday they settled down to party as in having drinks and dinner afterwards at HRPP headquarters.
We can only speculate whether or not it was just a front to assure prying eyes that Fiame was only a passing episode and they are over it already.
The only show of stress at the time was when the PM denied giving the media any reaction to losing his deputy.
He may have had a few too much to drink in celebration, commiseration or both but for a consummate storyteller, it was rather out of place for him to deny the immense joy of engaging with the media.
If Fiame is to lead a winning party she is not going to do so with the quality of opposition members who are wooing her right now.
Many are too tainted in one way or another to be trusted to win the voters confidence.
Bigger and trusted individuals with credibility oozing out of their characters are what she needs to take over the Government.
Will she get that? Again it is a wait and see what the election results will bring. Another major is whether she is guaranteed leadership of not just ANY opposition party but a credible one.
Lest we forget, politics is a fish with many bones, big and small, that have minds and designs of their own.
The sympathy vote maybe with Fiame for now in the wake of calling it quits but reality will catch up soon enough and that is when politics become real.
The HRPP under Tuilaepa is a Mt. Everest and Fiame has been embedded too deeply in the workings of the party not to know that already.
Maybe that will be her winning pair of aces.
She is the best person to lead the crusade against the HRPP and the one with the brains and experience to mount a worthy leadership challenge.
What are the chances of Fiame bringing the HRPP House down?
If the elections were held tomorrow it will be none. With little time it would be a long shot.
What she needs is one full term as opposition leader to hone her leadership skills and talents and we will have a Jacinda Ardern and Margaret Thatcher all rolled into one.
Fiame has kept her faith with the HRPP in the last three and a half decades from the time she entered politics. To chuck all of that loyalty out and simply walk away is huge.
Is it a case of one door closing and many others opening? The question is which doors.
The Lord maybe having His rest today but He knows.
Lets ask Him.