The Season of Discontent...

They say discontent is the first necessity of progress, and if that is true then we are in for a lot of progress anytime soon. As we enter the busy Christmas Season there are many troubling signs that are affecting the normally festive mood, and disturbingly there seems to be an unofficial policy to underplay Christmas despite the gift giving and the Santa Claus hats. It would seem that the 'reason for the season' does not sit well with the power behind the throne and you can feel it right away when you walk into the drab lifeless usually very decorated public offices. I asked the employees at a T&TEC office this week what happened to the Christmas cheer and one of the members said jokingly it hadn't reached that office as yet. By all accounts whoever is in charge of the delivery is doing a terrible job, because it hasn't arrived at many if not most.

If there is any truth to the idea that religious celebrations have been affected in any way by anyone's political or racist agenda know that there will be hell to pay (pardon the pun) and the inevitable push back will not be healthy at all. I think we are at a place in our development when we can safely ignore the government when they are doing silliness and relegate them to the civil servants that they are. A classic example would be the national rejection of the now known hogwash that was the much ballyhooed assassination plot, and whether or not it was fabricated to distract the electorate it disadvantaged people and disturbingly robbed them of their rights for a government's agenda. This needs to be seen for what it is and a call must be made for a Commission of Enquiry into both it and the State of Emergency that preceded it to determine what exactly took place. The harsh reality is that while we may not be in an ideal place politically for a return to the polls, we may need to take our chances as this administration is not ready and is clearly not up to the task. Kamla Persad Bissessar has demonstrated her inability to function at this level, and it is only the Season of goodwill that is keeping me from describing some of them in the manner they most deserve.

In this vein both Prakash Ramdhar and Carolyn Seepersad Bachan have served notice on the COP's Partnership Partners that 2012 would not be business as usual, and despite worrying signs internally that this could well be fiction, if they really wanted to set themselves and their Party up as an alternative to the UNC they have to take steps to sever from the coalition and separate themselves in the Parliament. The COP needs to distance itself and the membership from any of the abusers in this government, and, freed from the constraints of cabinet minus the power of government they could return to the campaign trail in force and whip up support as agents of change.

The other alternative the PNM has major work to do  on the redevelopment front if they are ever to be seen as an option again and everyone in that Party knows it. Dr, Keith Rowley is still not being viewed as the de-facto leader despite having all of the titles required, and he remains hamstrung by the San Fernando East cabal and their supporters. Until this matter as to who wields ultimate power in that Party is decided, nothing the PNM is offering can be taken seriously. Worse, no one wants to contemplate a situation where Patrick Manning is once again Prime Minister in his own right or the power behind the throne a la Amery Browne, and regardless of whatever residual support they may have among the rabid mass, it is still not enough to take the Party forward. Despite his feisty campaign rhetoric Dr. Rowley never dry docked, never court martialed, and he may well pay the supreme price for that mistake. If I were him I would take action now to purge the Party at the highest level of the Manning loyalists and replace them with his own team and get down to the work required to make that Party politically attractive again.

More than anything else we celebrate the birth of hope on the 25th of December and this must never be forgotten. Hope is the wellspring from which our best selves are yet to emerge, and  I would like to wish everyone a Season full of love, joy, family and friends, and may the message of the birth of Jesus Christ and the spirit of goodwill to all be made manifest in your life. Merry Christmas.