Electing people who only link up to win office ALWAYS ends this way.
This is exactly what happened to the NAR and People’s Partnership.
Looking for a strong figure head to unite weak politicians may result in temporary success, but will not be able to withstand the buffeting that comes with office.
It is why Carolyn Seepersad Bachan failed to inspire with her coalition of ‘small parties’ in 2020, and it is why Gary’s NTA is the same bad idea.
ALL of them are good people, but building a party where none are loyal to a central ideology and are only joining together to share power to achieve office ALWAYS ends the same way.
Herbert Volney’s platform and Vassant’s appeal to ‘link up’ is more of the same.
Political expediency may sound sensible when the only goal is to win an election, but what then?
I know how hard it is to build a real party, believe me, but what choices do we have? As Tobago is showing us again, shortcuts get us nowhere.
The floating remnants of the Congress of the People left over from Karl’s ONR that finds no home in the PNM or UNC need to make mature decisions now and support politics that is rooted in more than just power for power sake.
This idea of a third ‘pink skinned’ constituency outside of Afro PNM and Indo UNC is more of the same separationist identity foolishness and ALL of us need to stop it.
Race should play no part in your politics in a plural society if what we want is a nation that works for ALL of us.
Perhaps we’re doomed as a nation because of our inability to understand what governance is for.
We treat it as a reward to hand to people we like, instead of using our vote to encourage the best of us to unite around principles and policies in every one’s interest.
This lack of understanding has created a space for an exploitative monied class to use politics and politicians to further THEIR agenda, and is why we have so many wealthy persons who cannot explain their wealth, and why nothing works in T&T.
Having been at this for quite some time I can tell you that it is not easy and ANY politician sure of anything other than failure should have his or her head examined.
Trinbagonians have been abused politically to the point that the majority will settle for identity politics rather than act in hope of a better day. It is why die hard PNM and UNC supporters look the other way when glaring examples of corruption in their party is exposed. It is why they would prefer to eat grass from ‘someone who looks like them’ rather than risk abuse from someone else.
What a sad place we find ourselves at.
Experience has taught me that we as a people CAN rise to occasions if given the right guidance, and it is why we work so hard at this despite ALL the evidence that it could STILL be a fool’s errand.
Our biggest failures to date is not being able to find the formula to unlock that cage that imprisons so many minds, and not being able to get the best and brightest of us around a table.
Our mental bondage is probably the thing we share most in common, and it is probably why Bob said none but ourselves can free our minds.
We have to WANT it.
Rest assured, fancy slogans and an alphabet soup of three letter parties will get us nowhere until the voter starts to take his or her vote and this country seriously.
Until the parents of the children attending St. Andrew’s in Fairways and Dunross in Westmoorings want the same for their children as those attending South East Port of Spain Secondary on Nelson street we will continue to be lost as a people.
NOTHING will change until we dare to dream again. Of a better future for ALL of us.
Policy driven politics and honest, hardworking representation is the key to all of it.
I am certain of that.
Phillip Edward Alexander
