The People's National Movement has to come clean on a lot of issues if the national community is to ever take them seriously again. Party and Opposition Leader Dr. Keith Rowley needs to apologize to the nation on behalf of that Party, for abuses committed by the PNM under former leader, Patrick Manning.
Equally important, he needs to explain why the Party was unable to rein in it's rogue Leader at the height of his excesses and what mechanism is being put in place to prevent such abuse in the future, if the Party hopes to be trusted by voters as an option for Governance ever again.
Faced with insurmountable odds in the Parliament as a result of the catastrophic loss at the polls coupled with having to rebuild a broken Party from the ground up, the challenges facing him now are Herculean at best and not for the faint of heart.
Dr. Keith Rowley is not a man to be envied at this time. The best he can be expected to do (at least for now), is hold his ground, hold to his personal principles, and pray that the other side self destructs.
If by some miracle that were to occur (all things being possible), the chances of his Party (as constituted) winning an election in the near future is slim, because (under the Patrick Manning Administration) the PNM has become synonymous with lies, greed, corruption, violation of human rights and the erosion of the dignity of the citizens of the country.
His presence (Patrick Manning) and that of Colm Imbert in the Parliament does nothing to help the current situation, and is an impediment to any real progress possible under the new leadership.
Despised both within and without the People's National Movement, their presence in the Opposition prevents the Party from moving forward and they should be asked to leave.
Failing that, they should be expelled from the Party as a sign to the national community that the Party has no ties whatsoever to what obtained before.
The audacity of these two to take up seats in the House after leading the Party into such a humiliating defeat shows a complete lack of personal shame and self respect.
From strict marketing and brand management perspectives, the PNM brand may be effectively dead in the water and one would be hard pressed to mount a campaign that is capable of removing the stigma of Manning's excesses and failures.
Available solutions are endless but none may be practical, and the Party may well want to discuss options like rebranding and reorganizing so as to position itself on a more 'all inclusive' stance, rather than continuing to retreat to a core that is becoming more tribal and less national in scope.
The powers behind the organization may have to face these facts unemotionally so that choices can be made that would allow the Party to grow into something that can challenge for governance in the future.
This country requires strong Opposition to ensure effective governance, and if the PNM does not get its act together it may find itself challenged even further and all their renowned institutions and systems may well be for nothing.
The respect and admiration the people of Trinidad & Tobago feel for Dr. Rowley may not transfer to the Party he now leads.
Having been fired from the Cabinet for attempting to at least restrain his Leader from further excesses, Dr. Rowley was left to stand alone, and the PNM will not be forgotten for its failure to act in support of both him and the nation at that time.
If there is one lesson to be taken away from the May 24th election it is this: The population of the country is well able to determine the outcome of any election to what it perceives nationally as its best interest.
Manning's last stab at Dr. Rowley may be his worst, because, by leaving him fool's choices right around, may have effectively robbed him of his moment in history.
Something to think about...
For more from Phillip Edward Alexander please visit his blog: Plainly Talking
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