Jack Warner is planning to shake things up and create what he calls "a new UNC". The deputy leader of the opposition United National Congress says he'll do it even it means teaming up with the Congress of the People (COP).In an interview with the TNT Mirror's Azad Ali Warner said he is not optimistic that the current leadership of his party could resolve the problems the UNC now faces. And he was adamant that instead of leaving the party he would fight to make it stronger and more relevant.
"The UNC has to reform itself and join forces with COP and all other forces opposed to the PNM", he told the paper. Asked about the leadership of his new version of the UNC Warner told the Mirror, "There are people out there who can lead. Leaders will emerge. This is not about Jack, Ramesh or Kamla."
The Chaguanas West MP pointed out that in the Nov. 5, 2007 election he refused to join forces with the COP "because I felt that Panday had the support of the grassroots and we could have won that election."
He said he underestimated the strength of COP, which polled 148,000 votes, most of which were from disenchanted UNC supporters. The figures show that the two parties combined had a majority, yet the PNM won a clear majority of 26 of the 41 seats in the House of Representatives with fewer votes than the opposition.
Warner said he would not go into another election with a split opposition in a three-way contest.
Warner and Panday have been engaged in a verbal war for several months, ever since Warner spoke publicly about the need for change in the UNC to arrest its decline and prevent the possibility of it becoming irrelevant.
He and Tabaquite MP Ramesh L. Maharaj have been working together on the change policy, which includes a modern party ready to harness the communication tools of the 21st century to its benefit. They have also called for internal party elections, which are long overdue. The party insists that elections would have to wait until after the local government election.
Their method has angered the party and there have been calls for them to be disciplined or even be expelled.
Warner walked out of a caucus meeting on April 15, claiming Panday insulted him. That meeting eventually decided on holding a retreat this weekend to see if members can heal the deep wounds that have been inflicted because of the tussle between the two sides.
Warner is not optimistic because he says the same people who oppose change will be sitting down to tackle the problems. However he wishes the party well and has offered whatever assistance he can give to make it the success it ought to be. He is not attending due to a prior international commitment. Maharaj plans to attend.
The rift in the UNC led to the dismissal of Maharaj as the party's chief whip in Parliament. Caroni Central MP Dr Hamza Rafeeq has replaced him. Warner and Maharaj subsequently moved to the back bench along with Winston "Gypsy" Peters, who is supporting the so-called dissidents.
Now that issue has become a sore point for the UNC. The executive wants them to sit where they have been assigned and is threatening disciplinary action, possibly expulsion over the issue, especially if the MPs fail to toe the party line and vote against it.
Commenting on the Mirror article, Warner said, "I mean every word of it."
Read related story: UNC moves to expel Warner, Maharaj and 'Gypsy'
Read a political commentary: Is COP part of Warner's change?
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