As things "fall in place" and Kamla Persad-Bissessar takes over as the official leader of the opposition, there remains a divisive element within the United National Congress (UNC) that will be a continuing headache for new political leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and UNC Chairman, Jack Warner.Persad-Bissessar has now completed the journey from MP to leader, having waited a month for colleagues Roodal Moonilal and Tim Gopeesingh to heed the people's call for change. However others like Vasant Bharath, Ramesh L. Maharaj, Kelvin Ramnath and the Pandays continue to remain in denial.
What is sad is that while the membership of the UNC and the nation rallied behind the campaigns of Persad-Bissessar and Warner, seven people seem determined to divide the opposition only because they refuse to accept that they were rejected by the membership in favour of a new team led by Persad-Bissessar and Warner.
Panday still refuses to accept the legitimacy of the new leader and continues to mouth his flowery rhetoric of saving the UNC, which he built with his "blood, sweat and tears", while insisting that the party would die within six month. The reality is that he himself wants to be the executioner because he cannot let go.
I have followed Panday's career from the day he entered politics and have worked closely with him both in and out of government.
Without a doubt he has contributed to the country's development, but the UNC and the nation cannot continue to rest on Panday's laurels while the nation groans under the weight of the Manning regime and cries for help.
Panday cannot offer that help and the people made that very clear when they voted him out on January 24.
The task for Persad-Bissessar in the days and months ahead is mammoth; she cannot continue to allow detractors to stand in the way.
So far she has demonstrated leadership and I have no doubt that she will continue to do so and take the party back to Whitehall.
But she must be careful not to let her guru and mentor get in the way. She must recognize that Panday appears unable to overcome his political tabanca and under these circumstances he cannot be an asset to the UNC.
He will remain an obstacle not because he is incapable of helping but because he refuses to accept change. That attitude caused his break with so many men and women with whom he had been associated politically over the decades and remains his Achilles heel.
Panday loyalists, including members of his family, will remain committed to a resurrection although it is clear that Panday's time is up and he must either work with the new political dispensation within the UNC or be left out.
It is all well and good to say and do all the politically correct things such as depending on the wisdom of the former leader and handing him a seat on the front bench.
But Panday doesn't want that.
His failure to send Persad-Bissessar and Warner to his famed political graveyard continues to haunt him, so those who expect positive contributions from Panday today are deluding themselves.
Now is the time for the UNC to move on with its agenda without Panday, whose old politics will retard the party's growth and its ability to return to government.
The campaign that propelled Persad-Bissessar into the leadership proved that the UNC membership wanted nothing to do with Panday and his few allies.
Except for Roodal Moonilal, every member of the Panday team was wiped out. The message was clear. Even political unknowns beat UNC stalwarts who chose to be counted with Panday.
This is why the new leadership must be wary of how they proceed in the unity and healing that is now necessary. Persad-Bissessar and Warner promised that to the membership and UNC members are waiting for them to deliver.
The membership and non-members alike expect the UNC to rebuild itself as a vibrant political force and government in waiting. They asked for a revitalized party that would offer hope.
Persad-Bissessar and Warner promised that. And handing Panday any front line position now would work against what the people expect. In fact it would be a betrayal.
Persad-Bissessar is the new leader of the UNC and Leader of the Opposition. That is what the UNC membership demanded with their vote. Everyone in the party - including Panday - must accept that unconditionally.
Jai Parasram | Toronto, Feb. 25, 2010
1 comment:
I agree with this column, political tabanca is the most accurate way of understanding Mr. Panday's behaviour. I didn't realize that every member of the Panday slate was wiped out except for Moonilal, that is a crystal clear message I expect. If they don't follow the leadership of the members who said out with the old and in with the new, the members may indeed not support them at the polls. The risks outweigh the benefits, because Panday refuses to work to the collective benefit of the party.
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