Even if 2012’s general election sees a really dedicated reformist group in the lead in Papua New Guinea, a compromise will already have been made. Fence-sitting parties must be promised inducements to join in coalition in the process of forming a majority—inducements shaped in a mould formed by tradition, but a mould filled with the spurious metal of personal greed and opportunism. It is an alloy entirely lacking in idealism or care for the future, devoid also of that most essential ingredient, the principle of separation of powers. Here is hegemony. Here are opportunities for men who, though well-educated, possess…