Journalists walked into the press conference by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka with many questions on the state of the Government reshuffle on October 13.

For what happened in the following days is still hard to fathom.

As they exited the Office of the Prime Minister, about half an hour later, they were left with more questions, feeling more perplexed and utterly confused.

It turned out that the so-called announcement late into the night on that Black Friday was not a reshuffle but rather an ‘intention’, as Mr Rabuka worded it.

If that isn’t the biggest blunder yet by the head of this coalition Government yet, what is?

For it seems to be the order of things in this democratically-elected Government, a coalition that supposedly has a houseful of legal eagles.

Initially, Filimoni Vosarogo’s appointment as the chief law officer of the State was to switch portfolios with Siromi Turaga.

The latter’s capacity to hold the post has been questionable among the ranks of Government for some time. The switch was to take effect from October 17.

But Mr Vosarogo never got the chance to don the chief’s cape as legal experts deemed his appointment null and void because of his professional misconduct in the book of records with the Judicial Services Commission.

Then the short-lived appointment of Aseri Radrodro to Minister for iTaukei Affairs, switching with Ifereimi Vasu, was laughable, to say the least. For transparency’s sake, it should be pointed out that the appointments were just 24 hours.

At the press conference yesterday Mr Rabuka was asked the question everyone was dying to know: Who is your legal advisor?

To the journalists’ surprise, he said: “Myself”.

So Mr Rabuka ill-advised himself? Did he miss a script or a section or two in the highest law of the land?
Forget democracy.

If the Head of Government can make such appointments at a whim and set aside the implications or guidelines that come with a top appointment such as the Attorney-General, it can only come down to one question: Is the PM still capable of running the nation?

The Fiji Labour Party thinks otherwise.

In a statement yesterday, party leader Mahendra Chaudhry summed it up frankly: “Right now, Fiji needs a leader who is serious about getting our country back on its feet after 16 years of misrule by the FijiFirst government.

“From what we have seen so far, Rabuka does not meet the bill.

“It’s time for PAP to take a hard look at where it is wanting to take Fiji before it’s too late.”

Other questions that one might like to explore if we’re to dissect this debacle right to its very core: Is the PM trying to protect someone and heroically copping the blame? If so, who and why?

Or perhaps, did the original announcement have anything to do with it falling on Black Friday? If you’re one to believe in Western superstition, well it just might fit this category.

So many questions and little to no answers as the now so-called ‘intention’ to the reshuffle remains unchanged and the country’s fate hangs in the balance.

In the balance of a Government that’s turning unprecedented moves into a circus show.

Feedback: ranobab@fijisun.com.fj