Hell will freeze over today, while pigs take flight, as Kamla Persad-Bisessar is forcing me to do something I never thought was possible until now; which is to pay compliment to Dr Keith Rowley.
Despite the cynical, impractical nature of the unmitigated tragedy that was his victory speech, Dr Rowley managed to do two things fairly correctly; first to lower his typical boisterous growl to a more sombre grumble; and next, to extend an olive branch for the Opposition members to work with his administration.
And while we all witnessed the almost immediate contravention of the latter from the manner in which the PNM began conducting their totalitarian rule without any consideration of external, independent recommendations, in the heat of that albeit brief moment there was a glimmer of hope that the current government would not repeat the sins of their past counterparts and forge ahead with the all-inclusive premise that they promised.
That being said, during her campaign in the internal elections of the UNC, Kamla has revealed that she will be taking the position to exile her contenders should she be re-elected, citing their campaign tactics and statements as an excuse.
Putting aside the fact that anyone who has been a financial member of the UNC for longer than two years, that can meet all the required criteria and collect the mandatory amount of signatories qualifies them to file an application as a nominee, any internal election candidate who suggests that they intend to subvert the regulations of the party (which assigns responsibility of selecting candidates to the National Executive) if elected to office then that person should have their nomination in the internal election revoked immediately, since their agenda clearly opposes the equalitarian essence of the UNC’s Constitution.
Both her and her supporters are attempting to vilify anyone in contention with her slate, despite the fact that the foundation of the UNC is predicated on the same democratic principle that saw her wrest leadership of the party from its founder a mere five years ago.
The most damning part of her statements however, have less to do with the context of the internal elections and more to do with the campaigns that she commissioned during the five national elections between 2013 to 2015. While the former four now seem tame in comparison, they commenced a trend that would eventually culminate in one of the most vile, vindictive and ultimately disastrous election campaigns in recent history, with the authorisation of the infamous No Rowley muckrake.
It is clear that Kamla is using the opportunity to send a clear message to the members of the UNC that she will not tolerate any dissension or objection if re-elected to Political Leader, and is committed to removing anyone who disagrees with her course of action. This action may conclusively lay the final nail in the coffin for the UNC under her stewardship however, and the seeds of Team Kamla that has been furtively laid and cultivated within the party for the past five years may finally come to fruition to feed the insatiable arrogance that will keep her in Opposition for decades to come.
Ravi B Maharaj