Column: Opposition infighting is bad news for T&T and PNM

The good news from the opposition People's National Movement (PNM) last week was that it has ordered a "dispassionate, arm's length" view of the party following two successive election defeats.

However the bad news is that the divisions continue to get worse between the Keith Rowley and Patrick Manning camps, which could only get in the way or any meaningful change that might reinvigorate the party.

A strong and effective opposition is a vital component of Trinidad and Tobago's governance model, which is based on the Westminster system of Parliamentary democracy.

The crushing defeat of the PNM in the May 24, 2010 General Election by the People's Partnership (PP) left the party gasping for air. And as if that was not enough, within days, the PNM drove Manning out of office and installed Rowley as opposition leader, subsequently acclaiming him leader of the party.

The new captain was unable to get the ship back on an even keel in time to face the PP in a second election in as many months and Rowley sustained his first decisive defeat at the hands of Kamla, Jack et al.

That July 26 loss put the PNM in a tailspin and exposed the very deep wounds that Rowley is now trying to heal. Or is he trying to cut what he considers cancerous parts of the party?

His Parliamentary colleagues Colm Imbert and Amery Browne - both representing Diego Martin constituencies - left him alone for Local Government Elections (LGE). And once the votes were counted and Rowley was bloodied and bruised, Imbert came out swinging, blaming the leader for the loss.

And that's where trouble lies.

Imbert, who had contemplated running for the leadership but pulled back for "peace in the party", does not accept Rowley. Neither does Browne and many of the Manning loyalists.

And Rowley has been courting certain people who have been close to people like Imbert in the past in a move seen by many as the political death knell for the former cabinet minister.

There were even rumours, which Manning quick put down, that the former leader was planning a comeback to remove Rowley and take back the job of opposition leader.

This kind of political drama is unusual for the party that Eric Williams built. But the "wajang" who Manning banished and then had to embrace for the general election, is showing some qualities that make some of his Parliamentary colleagues very uncomfortable.

Like Manning Rowley is showing that he has 'maximum leader' tendencies and like Eric Williams he is sending a message that who "doh like it" would have to go.

So what the PNM's General Council is about to do is likely to cause a lot of in house damage before the PNM fixes its problems.

Its plan is to have a 15-member team conduct an analysis of the PNM's current situation and make recommendations. Rowley wants to include non-members. "The important thing is it is a good mix of skills. And most importantly it does not include people who have been so close to the wood that they can't see the trees," the PNM leader told reporters.

However while that is taking place PNM insiders say Rowley is going after Imbert, putting the former Works Minister under intense scrutiny for his absence from the LGE campaign and the made disparaging remarks about Rowley's leadership. And Rowley is going after Browne as well.

This seems to contradict the plan for any arm's length analysis of the party.

That's the same problem that caused the UNC's implosion following its defeat by the PNM in 2007. And had it not been for the strategic moves by Jack Warner and his Movement for Change no meaningful change would have taken place and the PNM might have remained in office for many more years.

And that's what the PNM risks today. The bad news is that it has no Jack and instead of Rowley getting the PNM's act together and having its MPs work closely together to confront the new government, it is fighting its own.

And while it does this, it leaves room for the Kamla government to get complacent and even make critical missteps in the absence of a strong, united opposition to maintain the checks and balances that are so vital for effective governance.

Fortunately for Trinidad and Tobago there is a strong commitment from the People's Partnership to good governance, accountability and transparency, so we might see quantum leaps ahead.

The first major test in the bad-news budget that is coming soon. That would be an opportunity for the government to either demonstrate to the nation it has what it takes to govern in tough times or take its first slide in popularity.

Jai Parasram - 08 August 2010