I read this in a blog Fiji Today, author not stated.
Postmortem of an election
Frank Bainimarama and the Cult of Personality (or why
it hurt not to be voted Number One)
The PR spin doctors are
busy establishing a Cult of Personality around Frank Bainimarama as the
first step towards his obvious landslide victory in the 2014
elections.
A cult
of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and
heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise ]Cults of personality are usually associated withdictatorships. A cult of personality is similar to hero worship, except that it is established by mass media and
propaganda.
Personality
cults were first described in relation to totalitarian regimes that sought to
radically alter or transform society according to radical ideas.[2] Often, a single leader became associated with this
revolutionary transformation, and came to be treated as a benevolent “guide”
for the nation without whom the transformation to a better future couldn’t
occur. This has been generally the justification for personality cults that
arose in totalitarian societies of the 20th century, such as those of Adolf Hitler and Ruhollah Khomeini
Daily I drive along a main
roads in Fiji and see large billboards with the photos of the “Leader”
extolling road safety or some other virtue. Never any other government official
… always Frank.
I visit Government offices
to be confronted with photos of our “Leader” on the wall behind the desk where
the Queen or Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara used to be……. There is only
one significant person in Fiji history and his name is Frank.
The media is too scared to
publish any bad news about our “Leader” and if he fails to be voted as the man
of the year then expect legal action. ….. How could anyone vote for anyone but
Frank.
Developing a cult of
personality requires henchmen to protect the leader from having to be seen in a
negative light. Does anyone else notice that all the bad news and
negative items spout from the mouth of the Attorney General and never from the
leader?….. Frank is above such petty squabbles.
The leader is always
present at anything that is deemed positive like opening a road or bridge to
take the kudos for any success. ….. Good news thy name is Frank.
To develop a cult of
personality the leader must be seen to be a player on the world stage so we
have our leader tripping around the world to any meeting that he is able
to attend and hopefully get appointed to some committee position so he can have
the local media describe to all how important he is. …… and Frank must
always be important.
The moral high ground
belongs to the “Leader” so anyone opposed to him must be a criminal or morally
bankrupt. His way is the only way and no opposition is allowed….
All praise Frank
A common thread in all
announcements is how much better off the country is since he took control and
that only his way forward will save the humanity and underprivileged in Fiji.
It’s official!
We have a cult of
personality and he is called Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, CF,
MSD, OStJ
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