The heat is on for Governor General

By NEWMAN CUTHBERT

The race for Government House is made easy because you only need to take a piece of paper around the corridors of the House and collect just a bit more than 20 signatures from your MPs for you to be considered.

And if you get past that and before you know it, your name paraded on the floor of parliament and mixed with the rest of the would-be Governor Generals and in the end, one winner emerges who will represent the British crown at Konedobu.

I would not mind being that person but than at a time when I and my kind are rated below par by those who have the power to vote in parliament, I do not think my name would get past the gardens.

There used to be a time when election of the GG was a regional issue that threatened political stability and parties entered into MOUs to make this five-year appointment.

Sir John Guise came from Papua so as Sir Tore Lokoloko, Sir Kingsford Dibela and Sir Serei Eri.

Sir Ignatius Kilage, Sir Sailas Atopare and Sir Wiwa Korowi were from the Highlands and today Sir Paulias Matane from the Islands is ending his term.

None have come from Madang, Morobe or the Sepik.

Last time the vote was taken Sir Paulias Matane got in from a three-horse race.

There was Pato Kakarya, Albert Kipalan.

One of them became GG-elect for a record short while and the other marched him to Waigani court and while they were fighting it out, Enga versus Enga, Matane sailed in from East New Britain and without an effort snatched the crown from them.

Hope we do not go through that embarrassing situation again.

I was wondering why Somare went to reconcile with Chan some time back.

Chan should be reconciling with Somare because it was Chan himself who moved the chair from beneath Somare after disagreement on the leadership code and causing Somare to loose office.

But didn’t Somare pay that back when Chan was out to buy a government jet to replace the aging Kumul?

Somare made an issue out of it and Chan lost government.

Today Somare has a jet which is double the price Chan was prepared to pay and for which he was removed from office.

But the reconciliation has taken place and GG’s crown is up for grabs and no new leader has lived in that white house on Goldie Lawes.

But alas who am I to start suggesting Chan is “Right Man” because there are other distinguished “right man” who more than qualify for that role.

I can see a Governor General material in Sir Arnold Amet, or what is wrong with Dame Carol Kudu, or if it would be a political taming of Morobe for National Alliance, Bart Philemon could be that bridge of political convenience.

There is also Sir Rabbie Namaliu, former Prime Minister and elder statesman.

And than there is the man himself ….Sir Michael Somare, last term in parliament, need to take it easy and would complete his distinguished political carrier and ending it all on a high note.

Grass Roots will no doubt be going for it again as he has always done.

He may have written to the Queen and copied the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader.

It gets lonely up there at Government House.

Governor Generals suddenly find themselves a remote figure surrounded by aids and minders conducting state ceremonies at the very building that US Supreme commander during World War 11, General Macarthur, used as a transit point as he passed through these parts on his way back to the Philippines...

It not only isolates the man but the constitution restricts him and tells him to “act only in accordance with advice from the Prime Minister and National Executive Council”.

The Prime Minister is his boss and holds the power to hire and fire.

Sir Serei did not want to sign the instruments to remove Forests Minister Ted Diro and Prime Minister Paias Wingti got rid of them both.

At a time when government’s popularity rating hovers below the 50% mark, Papua New Guinea needs that reassurance that  all is well under the democracy within the Westminster parliamentary system  which  we choose and in doing so accepted to make  a foreign  Queen our Queen as well.

We need to recognise the Queen’s passion about democracy through our choice of a Governor General.

We need through the Governor General complement everything she represents within the Commonwealth and to uphold the values of the Westminster system of our democracy.

We need a gentleman knight and his lady, who will give us hope when families are being threatened by social conflicts.

We need a Governor General to whom we can express our hopes and know that the government will get to hear it.

We need one who has distinguished himself in life and who will truly be the people’s Governor General.

There are only a few of those kinds of people left to choose from.