Friendly Islands turn into enemy territory for royals

They are known as the Friendly Islands, but there is nothing benign about the political crisis threatening to engulf Tonga, one of the last absolutist monarchies.

A former British protectorate, the collection of 170 tiny coral islands just west of the international dateline is ruled by 86-year-old King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, with the help of a feudal nobility.

But the king is increasingly frail and Tongans insist the real power lies in the hands of his British-educated son, Crown Prince Tupouto'a, 56.

Tongans vote in a general election today against a backdrop of growing dissatisfaction with the monarchy, fired in large part by the perception the crown prince has abused his position to create a business empire which includes a telecommunications company, an airline and the national electricity provider.

The backlash began five years ago, when the king appointed an American former magnet salesman as his official court jester overseeing a US$26 million trust fund. The money was squandered on bad investments and never seen again.

Rumours are rife on the streets of the small, somnolent capital, Nuku'alofa, a town of brightly painted churches, snuffling pigs and gardens bordered by giant clam shells, where men and women still wear traditional woven pandanus kilts.

Tonga's tropical climate, white beaches and coral atolls make it a popular tourist destination, but beneath the holiday-brochure image lie sharp disparities in wealth.