Panday sleeps with the devil
The old maximum leader rules the roost in Parliament. But for how long?
Politics has a morality of its own.
So saith the man who was kicked out as leader of the party he founded in 1989-by a significant majority of his admiring supporters- and who is testing this peverse political theory by shamelessly attempting to hang on the prestigious post of Opposition Parliamentary Leader.
Basdeo Panday, who is in his 77th year, afflicted with health and legal problems, doggedly hangs on to the one thing that probably keeps him alive- a bit more time in the political sun.
Politics has a morality of its own. What does it mean?
Panday uttered this deathless phrase in 1996 when someone asked him about the introduction of a measure by his Government which he had stubbornly opposed when the previous Patrick Manning Administration had tried to enact.
He has repeatedly uttered this saying .One can interpret the phrase as meaning that anything goes in politics; the means justify the ends or that honourable behaviour does not matter. It means that discarding principle and not doing the right thing is okay, once won can gain a political advantage. In other words, a politician should do whatever is necessary to achieve his or her objectives.
For instance, like sleeping with the devil-another of Panday’s favourite sayings.
In 2005, when corruption charges were brought against him he claimed that he was no longer politically attractive and stepped down as political leader but became chairman and continued calling the shots.
He was not about to give up the party to someone else, he repeatedly, affirmed: it was an entity that he built with his “blood, sweat and tears”.
Before last Sunday’s internal elections, he vowed that he would bow to the wishes of the membership.
He has done no such thing. He is doggedly attempting to hold on to the position of Parliamentary Opposition Leader. As a good lawyer, he is trying to convince the membership and the country of the fine distinction between being UNC Political Leader and Parliamentary Opposition Leader.
Panday, of course, is just angering the UNC faithful who overwhelmingly rejected him.
It is just a matter of time when he will be, unceremoniously, removed as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives.
Those educated and wise parliamentarians supporting Panday’s dotishness- people Like Roodal Moonilal, Chandresh Sharma and Dr Tim Gopeesingh will wake up one morning and realise they are on a suicidal course of bucking the wishes of their constituents and the UNC rank and file.
In the meantime, the empirical evidence indicates that Kamla is gaining support from the general public: she has brought new life to a dying rural, ethnic-based party.
Her stunning victory is the most significant development since the 33-3 ouster of the People’s National Movement in 1986 and Manning should do we