Prakash, History on Line One....

I know it's impolite to start a conversation with a question, but could someone tell me honestly what purpose does this 'People's Partnership' serve now? To fight whom, the ghost of Christmas past? And if (as some within that organization says) the ideal situation is a coalition as it represents true national unity, then why not invite the PNM to join and do away with the Parliament altogether? What criteria is keeping them out?

The truth of the matter is we do not need a coalition Government anymore as it has served its principal and primary purpose at the General Election of 2010 and those who are still defending and promoting it are guilty of misleading the people. Thinking people everywhere knows that the country would be much better served by an 'independent' Congress of the People, freed from the UNC's Party line and able to vote conscience with or against the Government on national issues, functioning as a counterbalance of sorts against any excesses and abuses in the Parliament.

For the UNC the loss of the 'special majority' the current arrangement brings might be inconvenient to their agenda, but to the Congress of the People, this presents such a marvelous opportunity I don't know why it is not being openly discussed with the membership. Think about it; harnessing the power to make and break policy from a Congress of the People position will raise the Party's stocks and would attract disenchanted PNM and UNC supporters tired of the tribal politics and of defending the corrupt practices of the past. On any scale this is a win for the COP and the only obstacle to progress may be the ambition and character of the current leadership or their shortcomings.

Surely the members MUST know that this term would be the only term in Government the COP will ever see if the Partnership charade continues, because like it or not the Party is in a lose lose position, being seen both as the 'weaker' junior partner in the government as well as complicit in some of the more questionable decisions by the ruling UNC government. 

Does Prakash Ramadhar have Prime Ministerial qualities? Does he see himself as a 'First among Equals?' If the answer to either question is yes then what is he waiting for? The opportunity is ripe for the picking, the politics pregnant with desire for a real and substantial alternative, and any political observer worth their salt could tell him that this moment will never come again. The next election will be a straight up dog fight between the UNC and the PNM if the COP does not seize some yard space for themselves, because nobody is going to be giving them any. Simply put, they would have nothing by then with which to bargain; no support base, no money and more importantly, no credibility. It's literally now or never and I want to be on record as having said it.

Handled properly the COP could end up with more say in the government than they have at present because the UNC would be foolish to try and play hard ball and risk losing everything. As arrangements go this would be a win win for all the people as the country would get a House of Representatives functioning in ALL the people's interest for the first time in a long time, courtesy of the Congress of the People.

At some point Prakash and crew are going to have to answer to the members for their lethargy, and I cannot think of what they could possibly say if they allow this moment to slip by; they are going to have to let the people know if their own personal positions trumps the wishes and aspirations of the very members who put them there.

There is an old saying, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. Prakash is now in a position to deliver to the members of his Party and the people of this country real and substantial change, the question comes down to the size of the fight he has in him. Based on the decisions he makes in the short term and immediate future, the members themselves may have some deciding to do.