Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has been a remarkable leader of T&T. There can be no doubt about that.
For those of us who want to be honest, we would all agree that she did a good job of steering our country through the most troubled waters inherited from the Patrick Manning administration. But I am sure Mrs Persad-Bissessar would be the first to admit that any leader who marshals her troops to five election defeats cannot carry on like it were business as usual. Something has to be wrong somewhere.
We cannot, and neither can Mrs Persad-Bissessar, claim that each defeat was unique and so no blame can be cast. After one, two, maybe even three defeats, the then prime minister should have done serious introspection of her party and tried to find out what caused such a dramatic change in the party’s fortunes that obtained in 2010.
More to the point, though, the former prime minister should now take the lead from her British counterparts, where democracy resides with the utmost respect.
British leaders, after taking their political parties into defeat, do what they believe to be the honourable thing and resign. It is what real democracy demands.
Similarly, no self-respecting company would continue to carry the burden of a CEO, if huge losses were constantly being incurred.
Mrs Persad-Bissessar’s stubbornness to remain at the helm of the UNC is indicative of the larger problem of indiscipline within the party.
She can now hardly cast stones at Basdeo Panday and his puerile behaviour over the past five years.
Let’s hope she does not become all that we have rejected in Mr Panday.
Dale Nancoo
Fyzabad