New Caledonia's dominant The Future Together party splits

Updated October 14, 2008 12:15:03

New Caledonia's dominant political party has split over a disagreement with the leadership. The majority of the centre-right party "L'Avenir Ensemble" - The Future Together have now left to form their own party. The move comes less than 8 months ahead of the next general election in the French Pacific territory.

Helene Hofman
Speakers: New president of The Future Together party, Didier Leroux; President of New Caledonia's Southern Province and founder of the Caledonia Together Party, Philippe Gomes.

HOFMAN: When the newly-formed The Future Together party toppled the conservative Rally for Caledonia in the Republic in the 2004 elections - it was seen as a turning point in New Caledonian politics.

For 20 years the staunchly anti-independence Rally for Caledonia in the Republic led by Jacques Lafleur had dominated the political scene.

The Future Together presented itself as the new face of multi-cultural New Caledonia dedicated to reaching a compromise on the question of independence.

However, a rift has resulted in the party splitting into two.

Didier Leroux has taken over as The Future Together's new president, while president of the Southern province - Philippe Gomes has set up a new party: Caledonie Ensemble, Caledonia Together.

Mr Leroux says the new party's policies are identical to theirs:

LEROUX: When you look at what Philippe Gomes with his new movement Caledonia Ensemble is proposing, you will see that it is exactly the program that was the program of L'Avenir Ensemble. So the question is why has Mr Gomes left our party if it is to do a party with exactly the same political line. The answer is that he has very, very strong personal ambitions. He likes to move alone and by himself, that is totally contrary to the way that the Future Together was supposed to function.

HOFMAN: The two sides disagree as to the reason behind the split.

According to Mr Leroux it stems from a disagreement over nominations for the French legislative elections. He says it had been agreed that he would represent The Future Together, but that Mr Gomes had decided to go against the party's wishes and run against him.

Mr Gomes says this was just a minor personal dispute. He says they decided to form their own party because The Future Together was considering forming a coalition with the Rally for Caledonia in the Republic Party to share ministerial positions.

Mr Leroux estimates that they have lost less than a third of The Future Together to Mr Gomes' Caledonia Together Party. However, Mr Gomes says that 80 per cent of the party signed up to join him over the weekend.

GOMES (translation): Why are we in a position where so many are supporting us? Well, because no one wants to side with the Rally for Caledonia in the Republic because we know that when you side with them you take a back seat and become a doormat. And that doesn't correspond to the philosophy of The Future Together that was created in 2004. The ideas of Caledonia Together are the same as those of The Future Together as they were presented in the 2004 elections and not the ideas that have developed since July 2007, that are becoming more like those of the Rally for Caledonia in the Republic.

HOFMAN: Later this week Caledonia Together will officially announce its intention to run in the general elections next May.

In the last elections in 2004, The Future Together got 22.8 per cent of votes.

However, Mr Leroux is concerned that they will have difficulty replicating this success after the split:

LEROUX: The Caledonian people had put a lot of hopes in our party and I am sure that have disappointed them quite a lot. So I mean we have to show them that L'Avenir Ensemble as it remains is still in the same direction and still willing the same thing and following the same line.