It might have been mere coincidence, but Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar could not have chosen a better time than now to use House Speaker Bridgette Annisette-George to move a ‘No Confidence’ motion against the PNM government.
After all, for those who know about spirits flying loose in various cycles , this is the fifth-anniversary year time for the smiling ghost of former Prime Minister Patrick Manning to “wheel and come again”
What may be the most difficult proposition for any leader who wants to keep his people in train, is how to get his message across while still achieving the specifically desired after-effect.
When the revered Caribbean intellectual leader Dr. Eric Williams told his post-slavery populace in 1956 that “Fete Done!”, little did he imagine that they got the deep feeling that there was no more real need for them to work.
Fast forward to July 1990 when an Islamic cleric and former policeman took over a whole government by violent means and shouted to the seething crowd outside the TT Parliament: “Do not Loot!”
Unlike the Williams case, everybody in Town knew exactly what Imam Yasin Abu Bakr meant as they proceeded to raid stores, groceries and shops for items which they could carry in their pockets, bosoms, and on their backs.
When she daintily stepped onto the pavement for yet another virtual meeting on Monday night (March 22), TT Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s hesitant start belied the dragon which she was holding on a leash for Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
Looking just as polished in mean time was her 71-year old Tobago “ah we boy” political adversary who had appeared a few days before on national television looking as fit as a fiddle with his face and bald pate nicely smoothed out like a beautiful black baby’s bottom – seemingly ready to take on all comers in his “Conversation” about the COVID-19 situation here.
As usual, Rowley had great expectations about how quickly he would knock his most vulnerable, punch-drunk opponent out of the ring as he squared off to ram in a few of his favourite blows below the belt. After all, this is where he has always located his former Prime Minister’s weak points, forever painting her in the stock image of a woman staggering through a maze of reckless debauchery and alcohol, especially of the puncheon kind.
Any leader who wants to secure his position must naturally ensure that the people around him are loyal to the hilt and always ready to take the fall for their “boss man”. Such a leader appreciates how well the engine of the government turns especially on the wheels of National Security, Finance, the Law and the Public. Works.
It is from this stable platform that the real despot can rule his kingdom under the guise of a benevolent democrat interested in promoting those noble principles which he and his cronies had successfully trafficked when seeking the people’s “popular” vote.
That being said and done, the major challenge going forward would most likely be how to ply this complex but exciting trade of manipulating people and moving resources to facilitate a smooth five years in office.
Now that the Opposition has brought a Vote of No Confidence in National Security Minister Stuart Young (January 27) hot on the heels of a massive loss of ground in the THA elections, cracks are beginning to show in the mighty PNM monolith.
Vibrations emanating from the Speaker’s Chair during the swearing in of Foster Cummings to the Trinidad Parliament last August could be attributed less to fears of an unknown caught slipping in through the PNM back-door than to the spiritual power of a young Baptist warrior shouting his way up the steps of Jacob’s long, golden ladder
