Political Grasshoppers.... (Me Love You Short Time...)

With the news that Congress of the People Mayor, former candidate and member Marlene Coudray had 'crossed over' and was now an 'official' candidate for a post within the United National Congress in their upcoming internal elections heating up the airwaves, many were saying that if the UNC had any integrity they would have known that they had at least an obligation to their coalition partner to initiate discussions when it was disclosed to them what was about to occur, but the UNC never promised to have integrity, only the COP did that. And as a demonstration of morality in public affairs, the UNC was supposed to also insist of said candidate that she publicly sever ties with her Party and possibly her Office before crossing over so as to avoid any negative fall out to the Partnership, but the UNC never claimed to practice morality in any of their affairs, public, private or otherwise, the COP did that.

Now the COP is caught again like a deer in the headlights, stuck for choice, not sure who to blame or how to remain valid in a UNC government still cleverly disguised as a partnership to fool those who could only support a UNC government second hand through another Party. That the UNC is comfortable with this arrangement shows how important the hold on power is to them, but that the COP is okay with it shows how little self respect still remains in the Party. Once again the Congress of the People is presented with an opportunity to demonstrate just what exactly 'New Politics' means. Does it mean that if you find yourself in a dysfunctional and abusive relationship you bitch about it publicly but 'stay and take licks' because the bills are being paid? What's new about that? I said and said and said again that if the COP came out and openly, enthusiastically and publicly supported the UNC the way Prakash, Anil and others in leadership did that it would cost them, but there are none so deaf as those who just refuse to hear. Now to the COP members from Marlene on down the equation is simple, if the UNC is no longer the devil that the COP said it was, and if the UNC members were getting all the 'benefits' of the government that COP members were not getting, what was  the point of remaining in the COP again? For their part the UNC never seemed to place any stock in ethics and decency, only the COP did that.

Prakash Ramdhar and Joseph Toney will have no one to blame but themselves if the Congress of the People dies now, because while the Party's activists have been fighting a herculean battle against the rumors that the COP was being gutted and did not know it since 2010, they have been busy behaving as if the Party WAS the government and not a bit player holding on for dear life and praying. No one is saying that projects like the Constitutional Reform Series is not important work, but it pales when compared to the real work that the Party SHOULD have been doing, that of developing itself nationally to contest for government. Here is glaring evidence of a high level member abandoning ship a full year ago, with the clear knowledge of her 'new' handlers in the UNC and not a man in the COP was even aware. Surely the question that begs to be asked now is who else? Who else is playing COP but wearing UNC yellow when no one is around to see? Now Prakash and Toney are presented with the worst of choices, either to preside over the slow collapse of the Party and negotiate the best deals possible for themselves and a few of the others at the top, or grow some balls, stand by their oaths and their commitments to the membership of the Congress of the People and do what needs to be done to save the Party. In one surreptitious and clandestine bit of political treachery Marlene proved why one must never court political grasshoppers, because if they horn someone else for you brace, one day they're going to be horning you too. Members and supporters of the United National Congress insist that they have zero culpability here and are under no obligation to help the COP keep its members in line as they never alluded to changing the way politics is practised in T&T. The UNC never campaigned on any platform of 'New Politics,' only the COP did that.