All that is left of Pangu Pati is a dream

 PNG will be without its founding political party, Pangu Pati, as it heads to its 40th year of independence in a couple of years.

For the next four and a half years, it will not have a voice in parliament.

An observer asked: “Pangu is full of history. Will the party become history or can it rise from the ashes?”

The once dominant Pangu lost its only MP, Ludwig Shulze, last month.

Except for the late Angoram MP’s win, Pangu has not fared well in the national elections since the 1990s following the fall-out with Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, its founding leader who took PNG to independence in 1975.

The grand chief is still around but is aligned with the National Alliance, the only political party to have ruled for nine years until the 2011 political impasse.

The Pangu Pati was influential in the formative years of PNG, contributing immensely 

to the socio-economic and po­litical destiny.

But in the seventh and eighth parliament, its numbers started dwindling due to political in-fighting within its own rank.

Pangu seemed invincible going by its election slogan “Pangu save rot”.

That unfortunately, is only a dream.

Elliot

Via email