HRPP is back in the game with a strategy that worked against it just a few years ago, money promises.
As the 2026 election season heats up, HRPP has begun making financial pledges to voters, echoing the same populist playbook that helped FAST sweep to power in 2021. Back then it was the million tala district development fund that captured public attention. That promise, bold and unprecedented, rattled the political establishment and ultimately helped disrupt a government that had ruled for more than four decades.
It was FAST’s moment. Tuala Iosefo, the independent MP turned kingmaker, tipped the balance and delivered the government to FAST. For a brief moment, change seemed possible. Many in the diaspora watched with hope, seeing a window for reform and accountability. But like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, Samoa’s political journey has been far from linear.
The momentum that swept FAST into power has since fragmented. Internal rivalries, shifting alliances, and leadership clashes have weakened the once-cohesive movement. As FAST lost focus, HRPP began to regroup.
And it regrouped smart.
First came COLA. Then SUPA. Both rolled out with precision. Practical. Targeted. Timed. And more are coming. Where there are promises of financial relief, the public takes notice. Because in the Pacific, we tend to follow where the money leads.
This isn’t just politics, it’s psychology. The strategy works because it taps into a deeper truth, our economic vulnerability. The average family in Samoa is struggling. Survival is often week-to-week, and promises tied to immediate financial benefit hold more weight than vague ideals of reform or structural change.
In that environment, God becomes second to money, and sometimes is used as a means to justify the pursuit of it. Churches bless campaigns. Politicians invoke divine will. The lines blur between faith and funding.
It raises the question, are we voting for leadership or for the next payout?
I watch with interest as blue now floods the digital paepaes where red once reigned. A few years ago, FAST red was everywhere, every feed, every comment, every rally. But now the red has thinned out, fading into the background of a space it once dominated. In its place, blue. Blue posts. Blue ads. Blue laughter shared in memes. Even online influencers now poke fun at the blue vs. red rivalry. One viral video shows the red team getting hit by a car, much to the amusement of the blue side.
What’s telling is the quiet from SUP. For a party in government, its digital presence is almost ghost-like. Their campaign videos barely surface, rarely shared, and hardly reach the feeds where the conversation is happening. It makes you wonder, has the energy run out?
Meanwhile, HRPP is moving with intent to reclaim what was once theirs. Tuilaepa never disappeared. After the FAST victory, his presence shrank, his voice subdued. But he didn’t retreat. He kept attending programs, kept speaking, kept appearing in interviews, like an off-tune melody that eventually finds the right note.
He found that note again during the citizenship case in New Zealand. When the racist law that blocked Samoans from claiming NZ citizenship was finally overturned, Tuilaepa was there. So was Rimoni. So was I. I shook their hands. A FAST supporter standing beside me refused to shake Rimoni’s. But Fiame and her government were not seen. The diaspora noticed. Even then, it didn’t dent the dominance of the red. The shift began later, when the internal fallout between Laauli and the FAST leadership started to break the movement apart.
Despite everything, the backlash, the court battles, the ridicule, Tuilaepa and his group never gave up. A voice here, a challenge there. Until the wall cracked. And now, blue is back. Blue dominates the political conversation, not just in Apia, but across diaspora circles online and in family chats in New Zealand, Australia, and America.
As for the current caretakers, we see them in occasional news pieces. But nothing that captures the public’s imagination. Maybe they are governing quietly, focused on policy. But the attention has shifted. The story has changed. The people are watching someone else.
Perhaps the independents will again hold the balance. If Tuala had revived his Samoa Tula‘i party, maybe the narrative would be different. But that’s politics, never certain, always moving.
And yet, through it all, one theme remains, money. Samoa pays attention to money. We are drawn to it. We’ve been conditioned to follow those who offer it. Sometimes more than we follow God. Sometimes more than we honour our humble fa‘asamoa.
Maybe it’s time to ask ourselves what kind of leaders we’re truly looking for.
What do you think? Share your thoughts.
