The head of a Pacific think tank says Vanuatu's new Prime Minister is an accomplished and well respected figure in the country's politics, who will head a cabinet with high expectations.
Transcript
Vanuatu's new Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai Photo: Television Blong Vanuatu
The head of a Pacific think tank says Vanuatu's new prime minister is an accomplished and well respected figure in the country's politics, who will head a cabinet with high expectations.
Charlot Salwai was last week elected unopposed in the first sitting of parliament following January's snap election.
He leads a majority coalition made up of mostly opposition members of the last parliament and several independents.
The executive director of the Pacific Institute for Public Policy, Derek Brien, told Jamie Tahana that careful consideration has gone into the make-up of Mr Salwai's 13-member cabinet, which has promised substantial reform.
DEREK BRIEN: He is quite well known and well respected across the political spectrum and I think his election was a comprehensive victory and a comprehensive sign from the parliament to tackle the issue of unity and reform and to deliver the demand for change that the electorate signalled in the election in January. He has been an accomplished minister in the past. He has previously held the portfolios in finance and education most notably, and oversaw some significant reforms in those tenures. So his cabinet however does present some new faces. We have got five first time MPs in that cabinet all of whom bring quite substantial experience to the portfolios. There is three former MPs that are stepping up to the cabinet for the first time and again bring a level of both parliamentary experience and administration experience into those respective portfolios. And the balance is held by some of the veteran politicians such as Ham Lini, Joe Natuman, Ralph Regenvanu, who will provide those deeper political links I suppose as this cabinet gets to the job of reform.
JAMIE TAHANA: It was a large coalition of various parties, independents, and only so many cabinet positions, but they've gone with a prime minister that hasn't been a prime minister before, and mixed the new and experienced in the cabinet. Do you think they have got this experience right?
DB: It's an interesting cabinet and clearly a lot of thought has gone into its composition. Not just in terms of balancing the coalition partners, and as you mentioned there are quite a number of those, and not just balancing the geographic split which is very important for the electorate. But these are individuals led by Charlot Salwai that can reach across the political divide, and a lot of thought has gone into that I think in terms of trying to bring some unity into the political landscape. So the signals are alright. There are signals for tackling the issues of political instability, signals of putting in place a cabinet that has clearly got the depths and experience to go about the business of government. And importantly the public reaction to this is recognising both of those aspects of the cabinet.
JT: Is there a sign that they will last somewhat of a distance as a government and even a term maybe, and pass some of this reform?
DB: Look I think that is what everyone is hoping for, you know, to see some stability in government, and to give a government and the parliamentarians across the political spectrum the space to actually engage in the development and service delivery challenges. We have seen quite some distraction over the past year and a bit that has really distracted across the board both politically and the civil service from getting on with the job doing government. The signs are in place that this team under Charlot Salwai will be able to build that sense of unity and political momentum.
