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| File: PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar mobbed by supporters of the People's Partnership |
This was her response: "I always cheer up immensely...because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left."
In many ways that is what is happening in the country today with respect to the almost daily attacks on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar by an impotent political opposition that is characterised by its bankruptcy of constructive ideas.
The People's National Movement (PNM) and some of its friends and supporters in the media have been carrying out a personal attack on Kamla, often with no grounds for even suggesting wrongdoing or breach of ethics and integrity.
Yet they carry on. It started with Patrick Manning and his baseless accusations about Kamla's private home, which earned him a temporary banishment from Parliament. And it has continued with Keith Rowley and his team, including his sidekick, Fitzgerald Hinds.
We are a people with short memories so many of us may not even remember what Hinds said about the little boy with dreadlocks who embraced Kamla during her tour of flood stricken Maraval in November 2011.
In case you have forgotten or missed it, this is what the PNM senator said: "I saw an idiot little rasta boy kissing the Prime Minister's palm. That made me sick. And if I had my way, I cut every dreadlock off his head, every one...what a rude little dreadlock."
That is the level of stupidity we hear from the PNM instead of how they would do a better job than the government at running the country.
There is also the Rowley attack on AG Anand Ramlogan, accusing him of questioning the ethnic composition of staff at the Trinidad & Tobago diplomatic mission in New York when Ramlogan had never been there. Rowley had to apologise after insisting for months that he was right.
The PNM has gone after Kamla for everything from the clothes she wears (some are offended by saris) to her shoes, her hats, who has "breakfastses" at the official residence, why her sister travels with her. They even have a problem with her cultural custom of bowing to her elders.
The latest is a pointless article in a newspaper about the the fact that Kamla did what every MP is entitled to do - borrow money from the state to buy a personal vehicle. The paper acknowledged that, yet ran with the story on its front page perhaps to give the false impression that that there was something wrong about it. That kind of reporting is unethical and irresponsible. However it fits the opposition agenda.
Rowley and the PNM have had more than two years to be a constructive opposition but they have failed every step of the way. Even their own staunch supporters like Louis Lee Sing have had to call into question the actions of the leadership.
Rowley is operating on the principle that Manning has boasted about in the past - attack the leader relentlessly with the hope that the leader would fall and then "all fall down". That is what Manning did with Prime Ministers ANR Robinson and Basdeo Panday.
And now Rowley is hoping he can do it with Kamla. The trouble is citizens are more politically aware today than they were in 1991 and 2001. They have no interest in gutter politics and they care about substance, not political theatre.
That is why the PNM is looking for a leader. They gave Rowley a chance and he failed them. They tried to see if Manning had any political currency and discovered that there was none. So now the big dilemma they face is "who we go put."
There is talk from PNM insiders that they want to show Rowley the door but they are not looking for any small change; they want somebody who can lead with fresh ideas and somebody who can take on the People's Partnership. That's a tall order because the PNM today is even more divided that when Manning gave up and called an election in 2010. And even worse, from among them, there is no one to challenge Kamla and her team.
The name Mariano Browne keeps popping up but the power brokers in the party have serious doubts about whether he can excite anybody in the party, much less win an election. He is a Manning import, who like Hazel Manning, never faced the electorate. And there is a great fear that he might have some baggage that could weigh the party down.
So for now, the game of shooting the leader will continue. Kamla can expect the attacks to increase. And they will. Rowley will keep barking at every passing car but unfortunately he won't be able to cause any harm.
And Kamla? She's comfortable because so long as Rowley and his team are in charge at Balisier House she can be PM for as long as she likes. It's because of the PNM's jaundiced view of the country and politics. It has remained stuck in the past, with a narrow vision built on a tribalism that excludes everyone who doesn't dance according to its outdated music.
But perhaps more important, Kamla knows how to embrace people, how to build coalitions and how to bring citizens together instead of pushing them apart. Today she leads the first government in the history of the country to represent every stratum of society and "her people" are "all of the people" of Trinidad & Tobago. And that includes her political opponents because at some time those who are fighting her now might turn into strategic allies.
The PNM has gone after Kamla for everything from the clothes she wears (some are offended by saris) to her shoes, her hats, who has "breakfastses" at the official residence, why her sister travels with her. They even have a problem with her cultural custom of bowing to her elders.
The latest is a pointless article in a newspaper about the the fact that Kamla did what every MP is entitled to do - borrow money from the state to buy a personal vehicle. The paper acknowledged that, yet ran with the story on its front page perhaps to give the false impression that that there was something wrong about it. That kind of reporting is unethical and irresponsible. However it fits the opposition agenda.
Rowley and the PNM have had more than two years to be a constructive opposition but they have failed every step of the way. Even their own staunch supporters like Louis Lee Sing have had to call into question the actions of the leadership.
Rowley is operating on the principle that Manning has boasted about in the past - attack the leader relentlessly with the hope that the leader would fall and then "all fall down". That is what Manning did with Prime Ministers ANR Robinson and Basdeo Panday.
And now Rowley is hoping he can do it with Kamla. The trouble is citizens are more politically aware today than they were in 1991 and 2001. They have no interest in gutter politics and they care about substance, not political theatre.
That is why the PNM is looking for a leader. They gave Rowley a chance and he failed them. They tried to see if Manning had any political currency and discovered that there was none. So now the big dilemma they face is "who we go put."
There is talk from PNM insiders that they want to show Rowley the door but they are not looking for any small change; they want somebody who can lead with fresh ideas and somebody who can take on the People's Partnership. That's a tall order because the PNM today is even more divided that when Manning gave up and called an election in 2010. And even worse, from among them, there is no one to challenge Kamla and her team.
The name Mariano Browne keeps popping up but the power brokers in the party have serious doubts about whether he can excite anybody in the party, much less win an election. He is a Manning import, who like Hazel Manning, never faced the electorate. And there is a great fear that he might have some baggage that could weigh the party down.
So for now, the game of shooting the leader will continue. Kamla can expect the attacks to increase. And they will. Rowley will keep barking at every passing car but unfortunately he won't be able to cause any harm.
And Kamla? She's comfortable because so long as Rowley and his team are in charge at Balisier House she can be PM for as long as she likes. It's because of the PNM's jaundiced view of the country and politics. It has remained stuck in the past, with a narrow vision built on a tribalism that excludes everyone who doesn't dance according to its outdated music.
But perhaps more important, Kamla knows how to embrace people, how to build coalitions and how to bring citizens together instead of pushing them apart. Today she leads the first government in the history of the country to represent every stratum of society and "her people" are "all of the people" of Trinidad & Tobago. And that includes her political opponents because at some time those who are fighting her now might turn into strategic allies.
Jai Parasram | Nova Scotia, 30 July 2012
1 comment:
Rowley will keep barking at every passing car but unfortunately he won't be able to cause any harm.
Cute analogy, Jai, particularly as, like the typical barking dog, he wouldn't be capable of driving the vehicle, even if he managed to catch it.
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