Transcript
WZ: This is due to the collegial government system in New Caledonia where the resignation of a single minister automatically triggers the fall of the entire government. In this case, Philippe Dunoyer resigned as budget minister last month so that he could take up the seat he had won in the French National Assembly. In his case, restrictions on how many offices one can hold at any one time worked against him and he had to choose. He obviously decided to quit the government for the job in Paris.
DG: So when he quit, who replaced him?
WZ: Mr Dunoyer was in the 11-member government as one of the members of the anti-independence Caledonia Together Party which put forward Nicolas Metzdorf - a 29-year-old Congress member. He was elected without a hitch because the government is a reflection of Congress. This means that the allocation of the number of ministerial portfolios is almost a given.
DG: What is then the hold-up to elect a president?
WZ: The problem is that there is a rift within the loyalist, or anti-independence, camp. There are six on their side and only five voted for Philippe Germain who by the way has been the only candidate for the presidency. He needs six votes to be elected. One of the loyalists, Christopher Gyges who was newly elected as well, refuses to vote for Mr Germain. This means he can only get five votes. The pro-independence ministers keep abstaining, saying it is for the loyalists to sort out their differences.
DG: What does this impasse mean?
WZ: On a formal level, it means that without a president being elected there is no properly constituted new government. This means that the 11 ministers who cannot agree on a president have to cede power to the previous government which continues as a caretaker administration. In practical terms this entails that roughly the same politicians keep working but with limited powers. For example, it didn't stop Mr Germain from attending last week's Pacific Islands Forum summit in Samoa. He was there as a caretaker.
DG: How long can this continue?
WZ: That is unclear. Mr Gyges says he wants a review of government policies and talks with the French High Commissioner who by the way is the person calling the election meetings. The timing makes things a bit fraught because the independence referendum process needs to be advanced and the French prime minister is due for a visit in three months. If the recent past is anything to go by it could go on for months, which it did two years ago.
