Column: Now is the time for Kamla to heed the leadership call

Jack Warner's statement on Saturday that he stands by his comment that Kamla Persad-Bissessar is well qualified and bright enough to lead the United National Congress (UNC) is an important statement about the politics of opposition in Trinidad and Tobago.

It's even more significant because his own Ramjack colleague Ramesh L. Maharaj is so far the only one challenging Basdeo Panday for the leadership of the party in the internal election on Jan. 24, 2010.

The talk making the rounds was that partisan politics would have forced Warner into Maharaj's camp.

After all, isn't that how politics works?

Not in Warner's world.

He didn't endorse his friend and Ramjack colleague because he wanted to be clear about his message that the rank and file members must decide. His statement demonstrated a sincerity about his politics and his faith in the people.

His mission all along had been to get the UNC to settle the leadership issue and reorganize itself to beat the People's National Movement (PNM) and return the party to government.

"I have always said that I trust the Party membership to make the right decision and I know it will, therefore, may the best person win," he said.

BEST is a highly subjective term in politics. It depends on who is making the judgment and it depends on perception as well.

Few will doubt that Maharaj made a tremendous contribution to Trinidad and Tobago during his term in government. At the party level he helped organize the infant UNC that formed the government in 1995 in a coalition with the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR).

But UNC members also remember him for the fatal blow he helped inflict on the Panday administration and his alliance with Patrick Manning as he attempted to stage a parliamentary coup against Panday.

That tarnished image is what many UNC supporters remember most and when Panday embraced Maharaj in 2007 and welcomed him back into the UNC family many were upset and less than generous with their forgiveness; some even walked away from the party, vowing never to return under Panday's leadership.

On the other hand, Persad-Bissessar has no such baggage and there is the perception that she is a strong, dedicated leader and a fighter for the people. And she is getting support from both camps in the divided UNC.

While there is no endorsement from the Ramjack team the clear signal from the Movement for Change is that it is content to let the people choose.

That kind of objectivity is unusual for a political movement, but it is characteristic of the group's mission, which is that the party election is not a question of loyalty to Panday but more about loyalty to the nation.

The whispering in party circles is that while the former prime minister is still loved by many, there is consensus that he cannot lead the party back into government.

Even some MPs who are reluctant to oppose Panday are saying privately they are never going to make it back to Whitehall under Panday's leadership.

And that is why UNC faithful are looking for a leader who can appeal to the wider national electorate, a leader who is strong, committed and a person who can work with others to unite the opposition and return the UNC to government.

In this overall context, Persad-Bissessar could be the new leader if she would go with confidence in the race among a sea of men.

And she would be wise to listen to her constituents, friends and advisers who are saying now is the time to stand up for Trinidad and Tobago.

Unlike Maharaj, she has no bad political karma. Her performance in cabinet rivals that of Maharaj and the clear advantage that she has over Maharaj is her loyalty to the party.

When the UNC Alliance rejected her in favour of a joint Panday-Warner leadership team, she told supporters it was OK, because what was more important was her party and her concern for the future of the nation.

"I will not leave at the darkest moment in our country's history," she told tens of thousands of UNC-Alliance supporters in Chaguanas in 2007.

That pledge takes on even more meaning today as the nation cries out for leadership to wrest control from a regime that has allowed thugs and murderers to hold the nation to ransom while showing disdain for everyone who doesn't belong to its political tribe or share its political philosophy.

The election on Jan. 24 is much more than an internal affair. It is about the future of the nation.

That is why UNC members carry an onerous responsibility when they choose a new leader. The question they must answer is this: who among them is best capable of not only leading the party, but of uniting the country and defeating the PNM?

If the battle is among Panday, Maharaj and Persad-Bissessar then the choice should be clear: that person is Persad-Bissessar.

There is a whole constituency outside of the UNC membership that is demanding change and is ready to endorse Persad-Bissessar whom they see as tomorrow's leader, a woman who has fought tirelessly to defend freedom, justice and democracy.

What they think might be irrelevant to Jan. 24, but their support is vital for phase two of this battle: the next general election.

For now, the next move is her's. She must believe. And she must have faith in those who are telling her now is the time to make that bold and historic move.

UNC members see in her hope for deliverance from the fear and oppression that have gripped the nation under the Manning regime. That hope ios shared among non-UNC members, including COP and some disenchanted PNMites who are ready to walk with her.

The tide is in Persad-Bissessar's favour. All that's needed now is that first giant step in the journey to a new beginning.

Jai Parasram | Toronto, Dec. 06, 2009