Still Seeking Change... (Disenchantment in the COP)

The members of the Congress of the People, disenchanted with the join up to the People's Partnership in the first place and demoralized by the immoral and questionable behavior of some of the members of their UNC partner in government, are frustrated by what has replaced the leadership in 'their' Party and are now leaving in droves.

Even if it is to go nowhere, before the cock could crow on the morning following 'the election that no one cared enough about to attend' many were already tripping over each other in the race to deny their membership in this house that Praks, Tirawie and Toney were trying to build; now in place of the great Partry of Hope we are left with a cult of personality tethering itself securley to Chaguanas and imploring members to 'give them a chance.'

A chance to do what, hoodwink the people?

To slowly waltz them into closer ties to a UNC that no one wanted to be a part of in the first place?

What do you do when less than ten per cent of the registered members of a Party care enough to support a public election that was itself hotly contested over nine contentious debates by four candidates over the course of three weeks?

The Party itself seemed to change almost overnight following those elections, and all of the trademark comraderie and love seemed to evaporate into thin air together with any notion of 'New Politics. Where was the expected reconciliation, healing, reaching out and the mending of fences after such a divisive campaign? 

Instead of anything remotely resmbling that Praks, Nirad and crew seemed intent on reinventing the Party in their image and likeness and went about a mini purge, firing office staff and removing from any official positions within the Party all who did not support their quest for power. Despite all of the protestations and hollow sounding rhetoric about 'one big family' on the campaign trail the truth of the matter is now plain to see, that this was about control of the Party of the swing vote and now that that was in the bag, the next step on this animal farm was the consolidation of power.

Really?

Something has to be terribly, terribly wrong within the Party and someone needs to ask questions as to how is it that in the week following the election: 

- the Party hosts open houses all over the country to invite new members and at some locations not one single person shows up 

- the New Team that is leading the Party goes on a national walk about and no one seems interested 

- the Party's founder himself seems to have turned his back on the Party, where his absence and silence is more noticeable than the presence of what replaced him

While one can say in politics and war to the victor goes the spoils, someone should have explained to them that this was a Party built by people who have no interest in maximum leaders and oversized egos and who have no qualms in walking away and starting anew. Someone needs to let them know that if no one is following you then you aren't really leading; you're just out for a walk.

This was the very stupidness that we were fighting against in the first place, and now that the deed is done it is time to see things for what they are an move on. Everytime Prakash takes time out to go walkabout something else has to be put aside and someone else loses, be it his family, his constituency or the Ministry he runs, and if he has the time to walk every weekend in other constituencies as Political Leader, who is walking about in his as Member of Parliament?

The fact of the matter is the COP as a viable political Party is dead now and not one of those who presently hold elected Office can be guaranteed of being returned by the electorate. While Prakash may be guaranteed to contest a UNC safe seat because of his ties to that Party, Anil, Lincoln, Carolyn and others and all of their supporters must know that their political shelf life is approaching its expiry date. Like the NAR and other Political aspirants that came and went before it, for the Congress of the People, it's all just a matter of time.