Nevertheless, Sogavare was ousted in a motion of no confidence on December 20, ending Sopage's brief participation in Cabinet.
Sopage retained his seat in the general election on August 4, 2010, having stood again as an Independent, unaffiliated to any political party.
[2][3][4][5] On January 20, 2011, he and three other ministers left the government and joined Steve Abana's official Opposition, citing dissatisfaction with the Cabinet being "manipulated by one or two people".
[10] On April 18, Philip removed him from Cabinet in a reshuffle to make way for five Opposition members who had just joined the government ranks.
[11] In early November, Sopage, along with several other former ministers who had lost their positions in that reshuffle, switched over to the Opposition again, and this time succeeded in bringing down the Philip government.