"Who is to be held accountable?" - Rowley

Keith Rowley is swimming against the tide and hoping that he won't sink.That is the position he has expressed in media interviews explaining his decision to remain in politics.

Speaking with the Sunday Guardian, the PNM candidate for Diego Martin West said this is the most controversial time of his political career. And he noted that his family didn't think it was the best thing to do, given the strained relations with his political leader.

Manning reluctantly agreed to give Rowley the nomination, keeping his options open until the last moment. The PNM had even cancelled Rowley's political launch.

And when Rowley and Manning met at the PNM rally at Woodford Square the two men shook hands but didn't speak. Rowley didn't speak at the rally although he was listed to do so on the official program.

And when he did speak last week, Rowley grudgingly acknowledged Manning, telling the opposition to "leave my Prime Minister alone."

His position was that an election is not the time to thrown the captain of the PNM ship overboard since there will be time enough in "dry dock" for "a court martial", a strong suggestion that he remains PNM but will seek to kick Manning out of the leadership once the election is over.

Rowley admitted to the Guardian that he and Manning have not had "a one-on-one discussion" since the day in 2008 when Manning kicked him out of cabinet after he raised concerns about UDeCOTT and Calder Hart.

But that doesn't seem to matter. “Whatever the differences are, I want to make it abundantly clear that I acknowledge him as the leader of the party of which I am a member and office holder, even if I disagree vigorously with some of the things he is defending or has defended," he said.

“I am doing so in the context that it is not him, but the policy and action that require to be adjusted,” Rowley said.

“I think it is unfortunate that our last batch of young candidates, many of whom started to hold ministerial portfolios through no fault of theirs, ended up in a climate which existed in recent times. It is very unfortunate for them," he said.

He added, “Contrary to how some people see it, the friction between myself and the leader of the PNM is not really a Rowley-Manning thing. It is how public business is conducted and from that standpoint, one cannot substitute affection for principles.

“Let me make this clear. There is nothing special about Calder Hart. If it was not Hart it would have been anybody else. This is where the country should focus; how this happened, could it happen again?

“Who is to be held accountable? If we spend all this time on revenge and focus on Hart, we will lose sight of the real problem which created the Hart phenomenon.

“He was a simple public official conducting public business. The issue is how was it allowed to go this way,” Rowley stated.

Rowley told the paper the experiences of the past several months have hurt deeply but at the same time he acknowledged that he is not being 'think-skinned" about it because that is the nature of politics.

“When it gets down to attempts to have your character damaged; arrested, and portrayed as being corrupt, these issues have serious affects on your family, friends and communities. If this is what one has to look forward to when you enter public life, then many people would withhold their services from the arena of public life,” he said.

Also read: I AM PNM in the Sunday Express