Sunday, September 21, 2014

Post mortem of an election in Fiji

from w
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)
Posted on January 14, 2012 by *********
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.
cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass mediapropaganda, 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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