Guest column: A difficult healing - by Peter O'Connor

Two things about the UNC election did not surprise me. The first was the result, and the second was the fact that Basdeo Panday would not accept the results.

Having said that, I congratulate all of the winners, especially Kamla Persad Bissessar as Political Leader, and of course, my friend Jack Warner, as the new Party Chairman.

However, I do not see Kamla as the local Obama, as many seem to be hailing her. Nor do I believe that the popular victory within the UNC is going to propel Kamla into the Prime Minister’s Office, whether in a snap election, or in 2012.

The UNC has a lot of work to do within its own house before it seeks to remove the PNM, and indeed before it enters into any relationship with the COP.

The goals of the elusive “Unity” and removal of the PNM from office must not be deferred for too long, however, for these were the pillars of the election campaigns—albeit the pillars were often obscured by the smoke created by the infighting among Party members.

And right now—unless there is some major change of attitudes—the goals of Unity and of winning a national election are being sidelined by the unseemly, albeit totally predictable behaviour of Basdeo Panday and his cabal.

So, the UNC must ensure that its own house is standing on a secure foundation of internal unity, healing and basic organization before it invites COP in, or ventures out to take on the PNM.

If they look beyond their own house before they fix it, they will fail to remove the PNM and their own house will collapse again, like it has done so many times in the past.

So, what is required here to fix the House of the Rising Sun?

The first move, the call for peace by the victors, has already been made. The second rests with the Panday Cabal, but they, and particularly Panday himself, appear adamant in their quest to mash up the house.

Kamla herself must be commended for sidelining the Opposition Leader issue, when she declared that her mission was the removal of Patrick Manning, rather than Panday.

However, the “winning” of Panday, or his removal, is a prerequisite to the removal of Manning. Actually, I was disappointed that Dr. Tim Gopiesingh and Roodal Moonilal remained part of the “deniers”.

What do you tell your children, Tim and Rudi, when they ask you about this?

And come on, the “discovery” of the “hidden Party cards” has all the drama of a pre-planned scheme which Panday and Co. could reveal when the results came in.

However, this “revelation” is utterly inconsequential in that the cards were not a requirement to vote.

I certainly hope that by the time you read this today, some of the UNC parliamentarians will have realized what is their clear duty, and Kamla would have been chosen, if not yet appointed, as Leader of the Opposition.

The biggest threat to the UNC, now—as it has always been, is the UNC itself. And it is here that the negotiating and organizational skills of Jack Warner will be needed.

But, other than the toppling of a political icon, what has the UNC internal elections given us as a country?

For me, there are three interesting positives.

The first is the removal of Ramesh Maharaj from the local political scene. He, at the time of writing, still part of the Panday Cabal (whom he opposed in the election), is refusing to accept Kamla. However, his political irrelevance was underlined by the poll results.

The second is the acceptance and election of a Woman as Boss. Kamla did not acquire her position in a back room negotiation, or as the self-declared leader of a new splinter party.

She, as Woman, challenged the sitting Leader of an established Party, and an icon to boot, and soundly beat him. And her victory shattered two long-standing traditions—that a sitting political leader can be unseated, and that we can accept a woman as a Prime Minister in our country.

The third is the election, in a heated contest, of a Black Man (an Afro Trini?, a Non-Indian?) as Chairman of the UNC.

In our Party politics, based largely upon Race, but not necessarily upon Racism, we have seen, on both sides, the “other side” given positions close to the top. But these have always been with the support of the Maximum Leader.

That UNC voters could have overwhelmingly supported Jack Warner over Panday’s choice is the most refreshing breeze to blow across our political landscape, and augurs well for us, if we can build upon it.

But first, the healing must be completed.

The above article by Peter O'Connor has been published with permission from the author. It has also appeared in the Newsday newspaper in Trinidad.