18 Sep 2004

Observer plays down French Polynesia political boycott

8:35 am on 18 September 2004

An observer and ex-advisor to the former French Polynesian Government says an apparent threat to the new Government is just politics as normal.

French Polynesia's Legislative Assembly was postponed yesterday because of the lack of a quorum by the governing coalition.

This led the opposition led by former president Gaston Flosse to proclaim that the Oscar Temaru-led government can no longer claim a majority.

But Alec Ata, a former Flosse adviser, says the former Flosse administration also lacked a quorum from time to time.

Mr Ata says he's not concerned about the boycott by four rebel MPs.

"According to what I heard, I saw and read in the paper particularly, it doesn't seem to me that they want to break up. There may be some new arrangment inside the current majority but this happens everywhere."

Mr Ata says claims of a lack of majority may be wishful thinking by Mr Flosse.

And he says that Mr Temaru has reduced the number of government ministries by about 50 per cent- so there may be room to accommodate the MPs' demands.