ABSTRACT
National political parties first attracted the attention and support of Madang villagers in the year 1970. This chapter considers who supported which party at the time of the 1972 national elections and the relationship of these parties to the two types of conflict had shown how in 1968 and 1969 the views of cargo cultists and their opponents were polarized on self-government and independence. By 1972 the opposition to self-government was not as strong as it had been, and opinions were divided rather on the timing of self-government. By 1972 three political parties were active in the Madang Sub-District - the Pangu, People’s Progress and United parties, the two most influential being united and Pangu. Although in 1972 there were wide variations in understanding of what political parties were, Madangs were by no means as hostile to them as they had been in 1968.
