Overview
- Prime Minister La'aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt issued a public apology on Monday after media reports showed him using the phrase 'Heil Hitler' and a Nazi‑associated gesture in a 2007 family video.
- The Samoa Observer published the previously unseen clip and RNZ Pacific independently verified the footage, which shows the prime minister leading about 13 people in a raised‑right‑hand chant.
- The recorded segment lasts roughly seven seconds and depicts the prime minister holding a microphone, encouraging others to raise their right hands and repeat the phrase while a camera pans across the gathering.
- In his statement the prime minister said the words and gesture were inappropriate, rejected Nazism, antisemitism and racism, and said he considers the matter addressed; there have been no resignations, formal investigations, or legal actions announced.
- The episode comes as the government has barred the Samoa Observer from covering prime‑ministerial events and lodged complaints with the Media Council, a backdrop that raises questions about press access, political accountability and public trust after his 2025 rise to office.