PM Manning slams media for attacks on Senator Merhair

Prime Minister Patrick Manning slammed the media Monday night for jumping all over Independent Senator Gail Merhair for voting with the government to pass a bill to postpone the Local Government Election (LGE) for another year while remaining silent on the no vote by other independents.

Merhair and Michael Annisette voted with the Government; the seven other independent senators voted against and have criticized Merhair for her move.

Speaking at a PNM meeting in Woodford Square Monday night Manning said “The fact of the matter is that Independent Senators are independent—free to vote as they feel, as they see fit,” adding that, "Any attempt to organise Independent Senators to vote along any particular line is contrary to the spirit of the Constitution."

That's a point he made before and he reiterated that "Independent Senators are independent of the Government, the Opposition and independent of the President, who appointed them." He said they are also "independent of each other.”

Manning lectured his audience on the role of the media, which he said is to educate and inform. He declared that he is not sure the media are performing their proper role.

This is not the first time Manning has expressed strong views about the media. He created a national stir late last year when he "dropped in" on a radio station to complain about two radio announcers who had been critical of his policies.

He was roundly criticised for that although some of his supporters like media owner Louis Lee Sing said he was right. However one of the nation's most respected media executives, Ken Gordon, said the prime minister was out of line.

Read the commentary on the issue: We the media