Counting on the Government's Self-Restraint

 

        Counting on the Government's Self-Restraint

South of the equator, northeast of New Zealand, east-northeast from Australia, there is an American territory. It's the only inhabited American territory that is in the southern hemisphere. About 45,000--50,000 people live there. It`s called American Samoa.

American Samoa, that U.S. territory, is not to be confused with the nation of Samoa, which is an independent country in that same group of islands. Where the American territory of American Samoa has 45,000 or 50,000 people, the nation of Samoa is much larger, about 200,000 people live there.

Samoa gained its independence from New Zealand in 1962. It was admitted to the United Nations in 1976.

For most of the time they have been an independent country, for nearly 40 years of the 60 years they have been a country, Samoa has been run by the same ruling party. In fact, the same guy, the same individual man, the prime minister from that party, has been in power as prime minister for the last 22 years. But he lost the last election this year.

After being prime minister for almost 22 years, his party ended up with one less seat in parliament than the opposition did. And in a parliamentary system, that means, since the opposition has a majority, they get to form the new government. And that party`s leader gets to be the new prime minister.

And that transition in Samoa was supposed to happen. Parliament was supposed to gather to swear in its new members. With the new party in the majority, they would then swear in the leader of that party as the new prime minister. Samoa would have a different party in charge for the first time in 40 years, a different prime minister in charge for the first time in 22 years. That big, important transfer of power was supposed to happen in Samoa. It did not.

Instead, there was a shocking announcement in Samoa: the parliament would be dissolved. They would not convene to swear in anyone, let alone the new prime minister.

The parliamentary system requires the leaders to be good citizens, to put the nation above their own interests, to have reverence for the structure and rules of the nation. 

But the people can never trust government or the people who are attracted to it.