Philip Schyle was elected with the backing of current President Oscar Temaru’s Union for Democracy and of MPs from the party of former President Gaston Tong Sang, the To Tatou Ai’a.
Schyle received 40 of the 57 votes, even though the new allies had earlier claimed they would command a total of 45 MPs within the House to form a “strong majority.”
The election of the speaker had become highly politicized in the past two weeks, with growing tensions between Temaru and veteran politician Gaston Flosse’s Tahoeraa Huiraatira party.
Flosse and Temaru, who had been bitter opponents for much of the past thirty years, undertook to reconcile two years ago, in July 2007.
Temaru’s election, two months ago, was relying on this bipartite alliance.
But ongoing criticism coming from Flosse just days after Temaru returned to power cast doubts in the future of the UPLD-Tahoeraa pact.
The first casualty, on Friday, was Edouard Fritch, Flosse’s number two, who has now been replaced at the speaker of the House.
