Third Term Lucky

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is a man used to getting what he wants. When he lost the country's first post-war elections in 1993, he rejected the results and insisted on being named co-Prime Minister. When that partnership with Prince Norodom Ranariddh didn't work out, he ousted the prince in a blood-soaked coup in 1997 and won the next round of elections a year later. Last week, Hun Sen received a far more orderly mandate in elections that were deemed the cleanest and most peaceful yet, though still marred by intimidation and vote-buying. "Hun Sen is always the Prime Minister," the chain-smoking leader boasted in the wake of his victory. "No one can oust Hun Sen."

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But his rivals continue to try. The Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won a majority of seats in the National Assembly, but Hun Sen needs a two-thirds vote in the assembly for a government to be sworn in. Last week, two other main parties announced they will join a coalition on one condition: that the CPP dump Hun Sen and choose someone else to be Prime Minister If the deadlock persists, Hun Sen has only himself to blame. After the CPP lost the 1993 elections, it was he who pushed through the constitutional provision requiring a two-thirds National Assembly vote to confirm a government, virtually guaranteeing his own place in subsequent coalitions. Asserting what he calls a mandate from the people, Hun Sen declared last week that if no one wants to join a coalition, he'll simply rule by himself. That's one election promise that no one doubts.