MASTER STROKE OR KILL SWITCH?

by WILSON PUNIM

The elephant in the room must be addressed early if this move by the Opposition is to gain positive traction and lead to a change of government. 
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As it is, Vanimo has yet to name it's alternate Prime Minister?
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Without settling this issue, there is no going forward for the Opposition Camp. Leaving it too late can have dire consequences on the floor of Parliament itself come 1/12/2020. Dealing with the issue early can mean that differences of opinion on who should be the alternate PM, are dealt with in the days leading up to 1/12/2020.
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As it is there are just too many who want the one job camped in the one group at Vanimo. A clash of their egos would permeate the very room they are in. I am sure Basil has felt it by now.  Even all other MPs down the rank have their own preferences. With their preferred man, they could end up with a ministry, especially when elections are around the next bend.
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There is Namah, Prueiths, O'Neill, Basil, Duma and even Chan and Wingti. All these men have egos and it is not a secret that all of them harbour intentions.
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It is only logical that Sam Basil is agreed to as the alternate Prime Minister since everyone knows that he sacrificed much. Why would the number 2 man in the country move if he was not promised the number 1 job? Why would he risk his position as DPM and being well placed to face 2022 with his party, move for another person or a lower position then that of the DPM?
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To anybody on the street, it is obvious that Basil was promised the top job and nothing less. Why else would he move or why else would he accept less? It would be insane for him to become an ordinary minister or take all these risk only to be DPM again.
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If Basil does accept the same or less and another person is named as alternate PM, Samuel Basil would have taken the biggest gamble of his life for nothing and in so doing jeopardize his party in the  2022 national elections.
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It should now be dawning on Basil that if he was promised the top job, that maybe a promise that Namah and those behind the Opposition's move cannot and will not keep. 
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For starters, the relocation of the Camp at Vanimo should be a RED FLAG. It is not Basil's comfort zone. It points to a vote for an alternate PM other than Basil who, given the odds, will not make the numbers. 
The other vital point is that the person who puts up the money to fund such a move and operation has a greater say. If Basil is not in it and someone else is, that someone else better hate Marape enough to remove him as PM regardless of who becomes alternate PM. Otherwise, the owner of the money would want to be alternate PM.
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For Marape, as the incumbent PM, all the chips are with him. He has options that are certain and absolute than the uncertainty over at Vanimo.
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Marape has 12 ministries at his disposal. A few others have offered their ministries should a need arise and he is backed by the resources of government. Any MP that now moves to Marape's Camp automatically gets a ministry. With 2022 nearing, such an MP stands to gain much politically.
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Not only that, the MPs backing Marape right now are predominantly ones who do not have taints on their names as national leaders. It is highly unlikely that they will move willy nilly. Many are leaders of standing. Again that is a plus for the Marape Camp.
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Sam Basil therefore has the option of returning to his position as DPM if what he was promised is not given to him after all. Marape said in a press conference that the DPM's post is still not filled. This could be Basil's opening.
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It is either that or some splinter group in Vanimo stands the chance to join Marape and gain big time when the national elections are, but a matter of months away.