2 Oct 2017

New Caledonia enters second month without government

3:57 pm on 2 October 2017

New Caledonia has entered a second month without a properly constituted government.

The President of New Caledonia, Philippe Germain.

The President of New Caledonia, Philippe Germain. Photo: RNZI / Koroi Hawkins

An attempt to convene a meeting this week to elect a new president won't be made in part because of the caretaker president and only candidate for the position Philippe Germain is in New York.

Mr Germain has joined other anti-independence politicians to attend the UN decolonisation committee meeting.

In his caretaker capacity, Mr Germain also attended the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Samoa.

Rifts within the anti-independence camp have led to a deadlock, leaving it unable to find a majority among the newly chosen ministers in the collegial government to confirm Mr Germain.

The ministers of the pro-independence minority have been abstaining in the voting, saying it's up to the loyalists to sort out their differences.

A new government is needed because the budget minister Philippe Dunoyer resigned to take up a position in Paris, thereby triggering the fall of the government.

The old administration will remain in a caretaker position until a president is elected.

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