Winston Comes Good

In my perception Manning made a serious mistake that could have unforeseen lateral effects. Basically it appears that his and his party's strategy was to asphyxiate the Nation whilst making out the PNM to be the party that provided love. This scenario is often played out by parents who abuse their children and provide them with love. Such children are caught in a double-bind.

And perhaps the PNM thought to themselves (maybe not consciously), "We go give dem air jus' when i's the time for the election...den dey go love we even more!" - which frankly is a strategy which is working for a section of the population who so dohtish (i.e. totally thick and stupid) that they loving the abusive leadership even more. There is much evidence of this if you look around.

We now hear about creating a land of milk and honey in the next 5 years. Well you have to be supremely dohtish to put any faith in that kind of talk - and not to arks (ask) yourself "Why the hell the land of milk and honey did not meet us 5 years ago? Why now do we get these promises on the eve of an election?"

Lateral effects? The hunger of 'air' has created such a need that anyone who came in with reasonable prospects of challenging the 'abusers' might have been received with hope and praise - a sort of knight in shining armour syndrome.

Well you might immediately dismiss this by saying Dookeran is no knight in shining armour, that, "Dee man real good?" Well as the saying goes 'todays headlines are tomorrows toilet paper' - and we forget the carnival that exploded sometime ago when the UNC grabbed a landslide victory from the PNM in similar circumstances.

I'm not saying not to vote Dookeran or COP. I'm saying that the electorate needs to be more self aware and more discerning in how they cast their votes.

For me I would choose the deep blue sea in preference to the devil.

Anand, for the first time I think you are not reading the situation right. Winston has not arrived or proved himself. A leader is one who proves himself on his own strenght, his own charisma, his own principles and beliefs. The Doc and Panday were like this, even Robinson had the same aura. Not Manning  and not Dookeran please.

Winston is just a figurehead, it could be anyone it could be me or you, the effect would have been the same. What created this illusion on Sunday of Winston seeming to be a strong leader is the machinery behind him, that is Sadiq who make the party and him look good in the mobilization, Ganga and Gillian who makes the COP look good in parliament. And all the UNC disidents who hate Panday who ran to COP looking for a place to call home. And finally it is the money that keeps pouring in from silent financiers who will want their pound of flesh like any other.

So they could have put Gerald Yetming instead of Dookeran and the effect would have bben the same. Remove all that and Dookeran cannot call a meeting anywhere and say he alone will be speaking and draw more than 25 persons.

It seems to me the PNM is worried because it looks like the COP will be stealing more PNM votes than UNC votes. As a matter of fact I feel this is what Panday playing for so that he may end up stealing the election. who knows.  

You speak about COP being a breadth of fresh air. Come on man! They are the same bunch of people who were the leaders in the UNC when they were in power. What suddenly makes them the best thing since sliced bread. See the power of marketing. That's why the PNM does so much advertising on TV for the same reason.

When Ramesh talked about the corruption and left, where was Dookeran that man of integrity?? Or Yetming or Manohar or Ganga? They were all part of the administration.

Don't you see, it's just a marketing spin on the 3rd constituent. the crowd last week Sunday was "well to do" Indians, Africans and Other. Thats it. The grassroots of both parties did not come out and wont.  

Thats all the COP will attract , rich people of all races and people who feel they are intellectually superior. These are people who will not be seen dead in a rumshup in South or East or will stop and buy doubles  by a vendor on the highway. These people don't understand the daily life of the average Indian and the average African citizen south of the Grand Bazzar and East of the airport. The horrors they have to go through each day to get to and from work, to make some money etc. That my friend is the COP support and I for one can never support them.

I hope Ramesh or Kamla can take over the leadership of teh UNC and maybe there is a chance. But believe me when I tell you I prefer Manning to Doookeran anyday. At least Manning will play Grandfather and feed his people even if he makes them dependent.

But Dookeran and his team will turn this country into us and them. the rich and poor divide will become so wide it will be like Sri Lanka where 2% are filthy rich and the rest live in poverty and serve the elite class.

Opinions in this season tend to run high...just my opinion.

Trinibagonians face a huge dilemma when "election date" comes around, that is when the "emperor" stop his childish antics and decides to pull the date from his "backside"/"backpocket" or where ever he has it secreted in some dark crevice not be found so far, despite his constant itch and referral to having it where the sun don't shine.

Leadership is the ability to utilize and maximize all the available resources (material,finance and humanpower) at one's disposal to meet and/or exceed the predetermined required goals and objectives.

Some "leaders" are charismatic and flambouyant(e.g Pierre Trudeau and George Bush) and others are dull as an axe but nevertheless very effective and successful as leaders (e.g Brian Mulroney and Tony Blair) all having their very own leadership styles and excelling at their game at the same time, whether we like them or not.

Winston may not have all the "charm" and "appeal" of many of the other "so called leaders", but he certainly made good use of the assets at his disposal in getting "his people" to mobilize and put on a "grand stand" first meeting right in the "stomping ground" and the "heartland" of PNM country.

Not only that, but pulling off a "boner",(winner) to the extent that both Manning and Panday immediately went off the "Richter Scale" and on the attack in the media immediately.

He must have struck a Raw Nerve somewhere.!

Good for "starters", an excellent first impression, and this is only just the beginning!. More to come in the future I hope! Right on track.

The delimma Trinbagonians face is that they are hoping for miracles rather than face reality.

What choices they have at present is Emperor Manning and the PNM regime who have been there for some 45 years and have the country in the saddest state it ever has been, despite all the "oil boom monies" with revenues over the last five years in excess of over $200 billion dollars, yet nothing to show for it.

Nothing except more crime, kidnappings, murders, a dysfunctional judiciary, lack of any healthcare, schools, police stations, roads, water and more poverty and suffering of the people than Manning would ever admit, nothing to be proud about, just to name off a few. Its citizens living in fear?

Then they have UNC, with some good people in Kamla and Maharaj, but in no way will Panday step aside as "Leader", and that will be the biggest problem the people cannot get past, which will result in putting back PNM in power, notwithstanding Manning's self egoistical blunders, miscues and plain dotishness.

That leaves Winston Dookeran and COP, virtual unknowns, but very promising alternatives to all of the above. At least a "fresh team" that could not do any worse, only better, than the other two choices.

The people can speculate as much as they want, but they have to closely look at the facts of the day as they have it, and the reality and performances of those to date, and set aside trying to compare "leader to leader" as that will not result in bettering their choices or bettering themselves as a nation and a people.

They can support PNM and Emperor Manning and maintan status quo, and run for their lives after that, or they can support a "leaderless" UNC, which by default is a support for the "status quo" as PNM will regain control, or they can support a meaningful signal for change, that is COP, even if unknown and unquantified at this time as to the eventual outcome.! It can only get better, not worse, after all we are at worse now, check it out!

Somewhere in a prior column I read, if we did not learn from the past we are destined to do it all over again. (History will repeat itself)

If it did not work for the past five years, what expectations are there that the same regime will make it work for the next five years to come?

If it did not work then, why do it all over again and expect a diffent and better outcome or results.?

It is only my opinion that what I have seen from Dookeran's leadership and it's very early at that, is pointing in the right direction so far.!

Change as much as it is very frightening at the outset, is a change that is necessary if the country and its people are to begin moving forward again.

I am of the opinion and strongly believe that Dookeran can lead and manage that change to come, a change to the better.!

But then, thats the Trinbigonian dilemma, moving from the status quo, overcome the fear of the unknown and on to accepting change! It can't get worse, it can only get better!

Keep on trucking, Winston, keep on trucking!

Godbless and goodluck.Trini.t.o.o.

The COP is a party of persons who have been expelled, rejected or by passed from other parties. A party of has beens. How could anyone think this is a real party with real ideas and ability to lead and govern.

I wonder how many of the supporters of the COP have ever voted in their life before? I am inclined to beleive they are the ones who have never voted because they never cared less about the average cirizen and their way of life. They are people who are well off, have computers and internet connection, maybe even degrees and feel they are more brilliant than others.

They never fought for anything or any cause in their lives, everything has been handed to them on a silver platter throughout their life. These are the supporters of the COP I am referring to.

Who are those new faces on the COP, what is their track record of helping and fighting for communities and bettering the lives of the common man. 

Do the COP really think the average citizen are so foolish to support  their half baked pary of rejects. The fall they will experience after the elections they will never recover from.

All their talk of integrity and honesty and yet they are accepting million in funding from the ILLEGAL CASINOS in the country. Yes thats where a lot of it is coming from. 

Casinos who make money from people who lose their salary every month , that blood money the COP is willingly accepting and funding their campaign but they talk about clean politics, politics of integrity etc.

So naive are the supporters of the COP.

Anand once said some months ago that Panday will chew up Dookeran and spit him out like he has done with others. Maybe he has changed his mind. I say Anand, hold your hand and watch as the drama continues to unfold, that statement of yours will still come true.

Let Dookeran head get bigger and bigger, when he topples he will not know what hit him.

The CJ trial is slowly but surely revealing the sinister plot hatched to tarnish Panday and which has been the source of all his troubles. All you COP supporters who labelled him a thief and criminal etc should be aware now of the grave injustice that was performed on this man over the last 5 years. And yet still he held firm and is still fighting. Even so The AG is doing his level best to avoid being crossexamined as the plot will be revelaed in even greater detail, do not be suprised if he does not take teh stand at all.

Not Dookeran, he wants everyting to be handed to him, he is not prepared to fight and earn the right and work for what he wants.

So be it, it's all part of this great drama.