This is  despite the much anticipated announcement coming from the highlands where he was visiting recently.

All the hype about the eminent changeover of leadership in the ruling National Alliance Party that dominated Papua New Guinea’s political landscape for weeks leading to a political blood bath in Port Moresby seemed to have dried up—at least for now—as opposing parties retreat to their corners to plan their next move. 

The National Alliance Party was to have had a conference in the newly-created province of Jiwaka in the central Highlands but that conference was suddenly postponed. But no new dates of the meeting has been set. 

Jiwaka is the home of the National Alliance President Simon Kaiwi who is vying to contest the seat of governor in the 2012 elections.

The visit to Jiwaka was more to do with Somare endorsing Kaiwi and sending a message to the people of Jiwaka about Kaiwi than about celebrating the new province which is home to rich coffee and tea plantations in the central highlands of PNG.

Party executives took the unilateral decision to postpone the conference to avoid any push for leadership change and allow the party to regroup before moving on to deal with this most sensitive and controversial issue of who will succeed Somare and lead the National Alliance into the 2012 national general elections and beyond.

It is the toughest question and the most serious issue facing the party and no one wants to openly discuss it at this stage.

Party strongmen know that under the grand old man, the party has a chance of winning the elections as they have done in the past.

Somare has a track record of winning elections in Papua New Guinea that no other politician has ever done.

He is the champion of grassroots politics having the rare ability to arouse grassroots feelings. They know him as Michael Somare, the man who brought independence to Papua New Guinea. 

He is well known and needs no introduction of his credentials and credibility as an astute, distinguished political leader of all times, both in PNG and the Pacific.

His peers have all gone leaving him alone amongst youngsters and newcomers to the PNG and Pacific political power game.

The National Alliance Party men and women know that one day soon the old man must depart the political scene. When, will be the million dollar question.

He is 74 years old and not as active. He is getting tired and knows the time has come when he must officially announce his departure from active politics.

Most Papua New Guineans would want to give him man a farewell he rightly deserves when the time comes. But most would not want him to be tossed out of office through a no-confidence vote at this time and in his current age. 

His new deputy prime minister, the ambitious young Highlands leader Don Polye, is eager for a decision soon from the party caucus to endorse him as the preferred candidate to take over from Somare.

Polye is the deputy party leader for the highlands region.

He travelled to his home electorate of Kandep in the Enga Province and declared to a large gathering of tribesmen and supporters that he is ready to take over the leadership of the National Alliance from Somare.

Leadership challenge

At the Jiwaka meeting with the local people, Somare, Polye and other key National Alliance ministers declared they are all together in harmony and will run the government until the 2012 elections.

The Highlands block in National Alliance are the only ones making any noise at this stage about a leadership change while the other three regions of Momase, Islands and Southern remain tightlipped about the issue.

They too are looking at nominating their own candidates for the top executive post if and when it is discusse at the party convention.

This issue is most likely to divide the party—even cause its permanent downfall—if it is not handled with sensitivity.

The highlanders are to pushing to take up the position while the rest of the country are not saying anything.

Polye wants to follow the constitution of the National Alliance Party to take over the leadership of the party from Somare. But others doubt he is the right man for the job.

In the heat of the political lobby for a change of government engineered by the Opposition, Polye was offered the top job but declined, or as some PNG watchers described as being wise not to rush into a decision when he knows he did not have the numbers to defeat Somare.

The Opposition has lost a number of  government supporters who had crossed the floor during the lobby. They have returned to the government side and apologised to Prime Minister Somare for being misled, as some said.

The Opposition has been looking at filing a Supreme Court reference to recall Parliament to sit so that they could have another shot at moving a no confidence vote in the prime minister.

Its lawyer colleagues—National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop and flamboyant Morobe Governor and former acting judge Luther Wenge—are among lawyers glossing over the actions of Speaker Jeffrey Nape and looking at ways to rescue the Opposition from another political downfall.

Parliament is not due to sit until November 16 for the budget session. But the opposition is not without its own leadership challenge.

First term Member for Bulolo in the Morobe Province - a young businessman named Sam Basil - wants Sir Mekere Morauta, the leader of the Opposition, to put the opposition leadership on the table for discussion.

Basil is a hyper-active young MP who has become a thorn on Somare's side. Recently Somare threatened to “kill” him politically, by campaigning against Basil in his own electorate to unseat him at the 2012 elections.

Basil said the old guard in both the government and opposition were tired and it was time they all went and left the leadership of both sides of the House to the young and-up-and-coming leaders like himself.

He declared he was ready to contest the opposition leadership if Morauta decided to put it on the table for a vote.

Both Morauta and his deputy Bart Philemon are over 60 years old and in the eyes of the young politicians are getting too old and tired of leading the country and moving it forward.

Mismanaging the economy

The future of Philemon is uncertain. His Lae City electorate is in shambles with a road system that has completely collapsed, This has angered the electorates and business community as nothing has been done to fix the roads and no one at the political level including himself as the local member is saying anything about it.

Lae has also seen an upsurge in crime and the business community is extremely concerned about it.

They want the politicians from the Morobe Province to take responsibility for their electorates and do something positive to address these issues.

Already there is talk in Lae that Philemon will not be returned in 2012. Philemon comes from the local Ahi community whose land the city of Lae is located.

He has been an outspoken Member of Parliament and an astute former treasurer who even said a big no to the prime minister about public funds.

He was sacked by Somare while attending a Pacific finance ministers conference in Honiara some years ago.

Now the biggest critic of Somare, Philemon wants the prime minister removed from office now, rather than later.

He has accused Somare of mismanaging the PNG economy and failing to put to good use the increased funds from the surplus budgets over the years.

Over the next few weeks until November, Papua New Guineans will see little action on the political front.

In the meantime, September 16, 2010 is the time to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Papua New Guinea’s independence and a celebration of the commencement of the multibillion kina liquefied natural gas project in the newly-created Hela Province which politicians hail as the answer to many of Papua New Guinea’s economic problems.

Many think otherwise as the LNG project has pushed prices of essential store goods higher and ordinary Papua New Guineans are bitterly complaining.

The Catholic Bishops Conference—the body that runs the Catholic Church in PNG and the Solomon Islands—recently raised serious concerns about the LNG project asking whether it was a blessing or a curse for this so-called land of milk and honey.