THE EDITOR: As a victim of the proverbial “party discipline,” I can identify with what is being meted out to Rushton Paray by the political leader of the UNC, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, which is now taking him, like myself, from political paradise to political purgatory.
The rigid party discipline has now been forcefully enunciated by the party’s leader: “Kamla lays down the UNC law. Tells Paray, dissidents toe party line or face expulsion.” When hubris steps in, invariably leaders not only lose, or conveniently have memory lapses, but they lose their sense of reality.
The Leader of the Opposition appears to have forgotten how she obtained the leadership of the party in January 2010, and approximately five months later became prime minister. I am now to remind her that, sometime in May 2009, in response to a question from the media, coming out of a call from concerned party members about when will the party have its internal elections, the then opposition leader, Basdeo Panday, responded as follows, “elections will be held shortly under the new system of one man, one vote.” So said so done. Party elections were held in January 2010 that saw the unpredictable rise of Persad-Bissessar and the demise of the “old fox.” Nobody was threatened, disciplined and/or expelled. The party was the beneficiary of the changing of the guards.
Now, 14 years later, a victim of several political defeats, the grande dame is threatening fire and brimstone on a simple, straightforward, constitutional request for party elections from one of her better parliamentary representatives.
I merely wish to remind her of the history of her party’s political leaders from the PDP in 1953 to the current UNC, from Bhadase Sagan Maraj to Panday, which I documented in my biography, Political Encounters 1946-2016 (page 252): “The rise and fall of political monarchs south of the Caroni River.”
When hubris steps in, reason and good judgment take vacation. Note well, as an experienced political activist, I am watching the signs and symptoms of hubris of the leaders of our two major political parties. You and I know who they are. Now more than ever they need the best advice available to them. Sycophancy and blind loyalty are not an option.
FERDIE FERREIRA
via e-mail
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