In attempting to help the population at large make sense of what actually happened and what is happening I am trying to cut through the gobar to the truth of the matter so that the people can judge for themselves. With that in mind, this is a deconstruction of the media report of the COP's position showing my interpretation of what was said:
- “Congress of the People's (COP) leader Prakash Ramadhar yesterday said the poaching of COP members to join the United National Congress (UNC) was a "deadly" act that can negatively affect the party's relationship with the coalition People's Partnership.”
Similar to the joke about bringing a knife to a gunfight, while this sounds like all the right things to say, what follows is such luke warm 'nothingness' one wonders why bother to say anything at all.
- “The COP, he said, intends to raise this issue with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar when the coalition leaders meet with her before the end of the month. We are not going to quietly absorb that disrespect."
Sir, with all due respect, if you the issue can wait a month then it's a nothing issue and everything that preceded it was all bluster.
- “Asked about his feelings on the comment by Coudray that she did not feel it necessary to tell him of her decision to switch parties, Ramadhar said he did not wish to negatively impact Coudray's chances in the upcoming elections. We wish her all the best," Ramadhar said, adding the COP remained a committed co-parent of the People's Partnership, despite the fact that Coudray's move will cause ripples in its relationship with the UNC. He said another statement on Coudray would be made next week after the UNC's internal elections.”
Of everything that was wrong with the COP's leader's rant, this was most disturbing, prompting many to wonder of what interest is internal UNC politics to him? Especially on the heels of the glowing tributes and accolades he showered on that party's leader in the lead up to the 'No Confidence' debate, to quote another serial commentator, someone's in the kitchen with Mary.
- “Commenting on the defection, Member of Parliament for San Fernando West Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan said she was disturbed Coudray secretly changed political allegiances more than a year ago. Adding that although Coudray was free to make the switch, she was "deeply disappointed by all of this. Mainly because Marlene Coudray went up as a COP mayor. She was a COP member, and my biggest concern is if Marlene Coudray changed from being a COP member one year ago to become a United National Congress member".
Now something is wrong here and we may have to call for some evidence as to who did what when. Marlene herself is saying that she was appointed by the UNC, and until we see some actual proof we will not be sure who exactly is rewriting history to fit current facts.
- “The move drew an angry reaction from the COP's chairman, Joseph Toney, who said it was a sinister move on the part of the UNC. Seepersad-Bachan said Coudray never made any contribution to the COP and misled the party, which has been putting out publications over the past year describing her as a COP mayor.”
What to make of that, sour grapes? In my view Marlene Coudray is spent political capital and were it not for the cold wet slap of embarrassment to the COP may not have even made news. The big story here is the gaping inconsistencies in every position taken by the COP since the announcement, and the lack of real leadership in response. Prakash Ramdhar cannot on one hand call this blatant disrespect of the highest order and then retreat to a mumbling wait and see posture. The COP is either a political party in its own right or all of this is just theatre, but one thing is for certain, before the tears dry on this one we will have a better idea of where that truth actually lies.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.