Kamla too weak to lead; PNM victory at hand: Manning

Patrick Manning told supporters Monday night Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is a weak leader who cannot handle pressure.

He said people have to observe her during the next four weeks of the election campaign to see the evidence. And he insisted that she cannot defeat the PNM.

Speaking in Maloney, the PNM leader said, "Whatever attributes the honourable lady might have, one thing you can’t ascribe to her is strength and the other is determination."

Manning said when he put the country on an election alert "everybody felt we were going to lose the election...

"My lady friend was riding very high and she was falling for their own rhetoric and their own propaganda and already starting to walk like a Prime Minister, to talk like what she perceived a Prime Minister to be."

He warned the UNC leader not to be so sure of victory, noting that his party's fortunes have changed considerably.

"It is clear to all in sundry who wish to see that the PNM is on the road to victory", he declared.

"I have been saying to you, observe the lady very carefully because as the table turns, as she realises that she and the political party of which she’s a part are powerless to do anything about it, you are going to see the pressure coming on to her and then you would see who is strong, then you will see who is determined, then you will see who meets the criteria for the leadership of Trinidad and Tobago.

"We have four weeks to go, observe her close, my dear friends, and we shall see what we shall see," he said.

Manning also questioned the UNC’s policy on the minimum wage and asked whether the party would destroy the competitiveness this country has built over the years, by forcing business owners to lay off workers and send up the unemployment rate.

Manning dismissed the statements from the opposition about his arrogance by asking if people really understand what is involved in running Trinidad and Tobago. He said it means understanding the difference in the cultural backgrounds of the people and requires strength and determination.

Manning spoke about a media bias against him noting that from April 6 to 26 the majority of the headlines in all three daily newspapers in Trinidad and Tobago were pro-opposition.

"It matters not to us, we know they are against us, we don’t depend on them, we come directly to you ... because we have faith in the people of Trinidad and Tobago," he said.