Is the Abel Camillo Revolt a Sign that Cracks are Beginning to Appear in Rabuka’s Party?
If it is, can The PA leader fix them which he failed to do when he was leading SODELPA?
Sitiveni Rabuka faces a litmus test of his leadership in the wake of Abel Camillo’s revolt and resignation.
The People’s Alliance leader, if he has learned from his SODELPA experience, will not delay any action to repair the damage from a likely fallout.
He refused to apologise to the former Nadi Branch president, whose application for a ticket to contest the election was rejected.
Mr Camillo had demanded the apology claiming that Mr Rabuka disrespected his application. But Mr Rabuka said Mr Camillo had resigned and the application went through the normal process.
This is not the last we will hear about this row. One thing is clear though. It is not a good look and indicates that all is not well in The PA.
Putting aside the technicalities, the big picture here is how Mr Rabuka would deal with any fallout as the party leader to minimise the damage. Mr Camillo was a dedicated party worker and branch leader who believed he deserved to get a ticket on behalf of Rotumans.
It was not long ago that Mr Rabuka, as SODELPA’s party leader, was facing a more serious issue. The issue was how to stop a split in the party between the conservative right wing and the moderates from getting worse.
Instead of taking the neutral ground, he sided with the conservative right wing led by his chief, the Tui Cakau and head of the Tovata
Confederacy, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu. That was a telling blow that destroyed any hope of reunification between the two factions.
Later after he lost the battle to retain the party leader role against Viliame Gavoka, he quit SODELPA to form his new party, The PA. It was easy for him to do it because in hindsight SODELPA was only a platform used to relaunch his career after spending years in the political wilderness following the demise of his Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT) party.
The PA is his last and best bet to achieve his comeback dream before he bows out of politics. His goal for a second tilt at the country’s top job hangs on The PA. So he would do everything in his power not to undermine the party’s chances in the election.
Early signs that The PA may be facing some internal challenges came through when it lost a psychological advantage while announcing its first batch of candidates, one week after SODELPA announced its first batch. To make matters worse it only announced 12 candidates while SODELPA named 28 candidates. The obvious question, why only 12?
SODELPA scored one up and created the impression that it was ahead of The PA. Perceptions matter a lot in this election and although it sits on the number four spot, it appears to be better organised.
While the PA is on number two, it may be facing challenges in deciding which candidates to select for its lineup. Is Mr Camillo not the only disgruntled applicant?