Manning predicts UK coalition will fail

Kamla Persad-Bissessar held up the British experience as an example of coalition building when he addressed a political meeting on Tuesday night.

The UNC political leader was commenting on the change in London following the May 6 election that left none of the three parties with a majority in the House of commons.

The Queen appointed the Conversative leader to head a government and David Cameron, 43, has said he will work with the Liberal Democrats to create a workable government.

Persad-Bissessar said that's an example of how parties with competing interests can work in the interest of the nation. And she held up the UK as the example to show that a People's Partnership will work.

Read related article: The coalition experience starts here

But Patrick Manning begs to disagree. Speaking at a PNM meeting Wednesday night, the PNM leader said new British coalition is bound to fail, reiterating his previous arguments that coalitions are inherently unstable.

He said Britons will see their new government fall within a year.

"For coalition governments to work well, it calls for a certain amount of political maturity," Manning said adding that a leader of such a political arrangement must have the kind of authority that is accepted and respected.

"And if you don’t have that, you are going to have bacchanal, you’re going to have chaos and you’re going to have confusion...

"They must have some kind of agreement on the policy positions that they want to adopt and most policy decisions are based upon some kind of vision upon which they all agree," he said.

Manning said he doubts that there are agreements on policy issues in the competing interests that make up the People's Partnership.

"If there is one thing of which we can be certain, is if that group of people are put into government in this country, you’re going to have problems from the word go...It is better to be safe than sorry. So therefore, vote for the People’s National Movement on May 24," he advised supporters.