Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose....
This has really been the first moment to sit and think since arriving back in Dili on Friday. It's amazing how much can change in a short time and still remain the same.
Since the last time I was here, the Presidential race has been determined. José Ramos-Horta, the former Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Laureate, swopped his powerful position as Head of Government for the largely ceremonial post of Head of State. As Head of Government though it is questionable how much real influence he could have as an independent politician overseeing a parliament made up of the major party, FREITILIN.
It is speculated that the former President, Xanana Gusmao, will take the position of Prime Minister if his party, the opposition CNRT, win at the polls at the end of June. If that happens, then these two men will have effectively swopped jobs. More interesting though will be how the rest of the Cabinet is constructed. Right now, no one knows so everything is in limbo. And that has implications for our project this month. It will be hard to get anyone to commit to anything I think. Also as the time for the election grows nearer, I think the jostling for position will become greater with possibly more tension - Right now things feel calm.
Both Ramos-Horta and Gusmao are former liberation fighters and leaders, both belonged to the resistance front, FREITILIN, which was a broad church that united many different interests. Both have since left that movement to set up shop in a broad coalition called the CNRT. This highlights the level of political in-fighting - often very public. It seems among former liberation/struggle cadres, the worst insult one can level at an opponent is that s/he is "socialist" or even worse still a "communist"! Back home cadres from the SA Communist Party or the trades union are accused of being "ultra-leftist" or even "counter-revolutionary".
No comments:
Post a Comment