And what happens next...

The second round of Assembly elections in French Polynesia was held yesterday. The first round was held two weeks ago to eliminate smaller parties that were supposedly responsible for political instability. The results are that To Tatou Ai'a, the new, pro-autonomy (pro-France) party led by Gaston Tong Sang (who Craig and I shared a plane flight with back in December) comes in ahead, with 27 seats, but this is just short of the 29 seats needed for an absolute majority. The pro-independence UPLD (Union pour la Démocratie, led by current President Oscar Temaru) comes in second with 20 seats, and the pro-autonomy Tahoera'a Huiraatira (led by Gaston Flosse) third with 10 seats. The French government is very pleased with these results. There is talk of a pro-autonomy coalition between To Tatou Ai'a and Tahoera'a. But the nagging question remains: since no party has an absolute majority, will the instability that has marked the past four years of politics here continue?

Read more on Agence Tahitienne de Presse, Le Monde, and Radio New Zealand International.