Letter: PNM in danger of dying?

The institution known in Trinidad and Tobago as the PNM is in danger of dying.

And this death is not due to any electoral loss though that may have been the sudden cause of wanting to change the leadership.

The PNM traditionally seen as an Afro led party needs to change this perception overnight or else it will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

The mandate given to the Peoples Partnership is so overwhelming that if the PNM does not immediately change this image then we can expect the migrant votes to the Peoples Partnership to ossify in its new home.

People have experienced the benefits of change and will no longer succumb to old traditions.

The PNM also carries too much baggage with its history and Dr Keith Rowley is seen in many quarters as the man responsible for bringing down the Manning administration.

Men are not angels and will continue to steal money from treasuries.

As far back as 2008 I wrote in the newspaper that Dr Keith Rowley was making a challenge for the leadership of the PNM.

Corruption which is the antithesis of governance was thus a ruse to gain ascendancy. The options open to an MP are three: loyalty, leaving and rebelling.

This last option is an act of disloyalty but is the most potent in toppling a government.

Can the PNM adjust to the new realities? The UNC for more than a decade has been rebranding itself.

With tokenism during its formation but more substantially over the past decade. Can the PNM rise to the occasion? Only time will tell.
Ronald Bhola - via email