And then there's Fiji, where he had to abandon cell towers for a time after a coup.
Besides members of Mr Chaudhry's Fiji Labour Party, prominent members of the family of the late president, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, have taken important portfolios.
ECONOMIST: The new regime may find it hard to return to democracy
It also happens that Tonga's chief justice, Michael Scott, a former Fiji high-court judge and himself a refugee from Fiji's coup, is an arch-opponent of Fiji's chief justice, Anthony Gates, controversially appointed in the wake of the Bainimarama takeover.
For, surprisingly, they were uttered this week by Fiji's new president, a man backed by Mr Speight in the belief that he would ensure the supremacy of Fiji's indigenous people over its ethnic Indians.
In a television address, Commodore Bainimarama, who doubles as prime minister, responded by condemning the Tongan navy's role in extracting Mr Mara from Fiji's territorial waters.
But Mr Speight's uprising was also a revolt against Fiji's paramount chiefs, who have continued to dominate the country's government despite the move away from their former rural fiefs.
Mr Mara's flight from Fiji is a further sign of the growing breach between Commodore Bainimarama and the Mara dynasty.
"It's going to be a big contest in the forwards, " said blind-side flanker Ormond, who was not considered for New Zealand Maori's international against Fiji in Suva on Friday in order to lead his province against the Lions.
BBC: SPORT | Rugby Union | Lions in NZ | Plenty opt for forward strength
Around the thatched-roofed parliamentary buildings an assortment of tents house delegations from Fiji's provinces.
O'Gara converted before his opposite number, Fiji's Seremaia Bai, opened Clermont's account with a 12th-minute penalty.
Justice Scott will presumably take a dim view of the impartiality of Fiji's courts.
Mutinous soldiers continue to occupy a barracks at Labasa, on Fiji's second-largest island, Vanua Levu.
The powerful chiefs from Fiji's eastern islands, who were well-known backers of the uprising, remain immune.
And White said Fiji's inspired second-half burst should not mask a professional display by his own side.
Chiefs from Fiji's tiny island of Bau, stalwart backers of the putsch, presided majestically over the ceremonies.
Those links go back to 1874, when Fiji's chiefs ceded sovereignty over the archipelago to Queen Victoria.
Fiji's army is a professional one, with a good reputation for peacekeeping in troublespots around the world.
Fiji's Vijay Singh brought his campaign to a close at one over after a final round of 71.
In March 2001, the Court of Appeal finally restored Fiji's 1997 constitution, forcing the government to call fresh elections.
The result ends Fiji's memorable run while Australia will now rest their bruised bodies ahead of Saturday's final in Brisbane.
Many Indians are reported to be fleeing the eastern part of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu, to more tranquil areas.
Fiji's tour of Europe sees them face Scotland on 14 November, Ireland on 21 November and Romania on 28 November.
He expects all three games to sell-out, and is hopeful Fiji's visit to the Millennium Stadium on 11 November would follow suit.
His apparent immunity from arrest, if not from warning shots by checkpoint guards, is because he has considerable support in Fiji's divided society.
Since the failed coup in 2000, Fiji's courts have made critical decisions, and the indigenous Fijian-dominated government has acquiesced, usually reluctantly and grudgingly.
Surprisingly, his new cabinet gives important portfolios to Mahendra Chaudhry, Fiji's first prime minister of Indian descent, ousted in a coup in May 2000.
ECONOMIST: The new regime may find it hard to return to democracy
He has also dismissed Fiji's veteran president, Ratu (Chief) Sir Kamisese Mara, as Mr Speight had demanded, and installed himself as head of state.
Fiji's coastal capital, Suva, is casual but poor by Western standards.
Mr Qarase aims to steer a delicate line between the outside powers with an interest in Fiji's fate and domestic Fijian support for Mr Speight.
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