The difficulty with spin-doctoring and image-making is that sooner or later politicians are confronted by the truth: their masks fall away and the electorate sees them without the veneer. What is more is that in the 21st century world of prowling media, reporters looking for a scoop (truth) to counter the competition, and doing whatever it takes to get a story, a la News of the World, sooner rather than later the doctored stories and created images lose all believability. When that happens, the politicians have the pride and pomposity scrubbed from their created selves and are forced to "fess-up." Or worse, they and their spin doctors set about the creation of yet another web of spin to get them out of the first entanglement. The pre-election and immediately-upon-taking-charge image of Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the motherly figure, caring, understanding, capable of the charming smile and velvet touch, one dedicated to truth, integrity, fairness but strong and absolutely committed to T&T's welfare, has been tarnished. Towards the end of the April/ May election campaign for office, the American image makers and spin doctors advanced the sophisticated executive look. The child of Siparia, who had had a touch of the Indira Gandhi, caring, straight-forward, undaunted by the barbs, always prepared to "wipe the tears away"-No Woman No Cry-suffered. The glamour image left behind has been penetrated, perceived differently by the onlookers, consumers, those depending on ser- vice, those always ready to get un-der the skin of politicians in office.
Unfortunately, the newly created image is subject to hard lines of stress, nervous energy and is easily penetrated by reporter questions and insistence. In such circumstances and by definition, the created persona resorts to bullying to rebuff, even seeking to silence reporter insistence. Then there is the iron law of ever-diminishing returns on political spin, especially as that skill is practised by amateurs, not a few of them intellectually incompetent to hold a coherent line in an argument; a few others too steeped in the belief that they are smarter than everyone else. Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, the spin-doctoring and so obviously inadequate explanations do not impress the target audiences. With wisdom drawn from their multiple and varied experiences, including front-row seats to international political intrigue, ordinary people easily discern efforts at disingenuity. The result is that ministers and their minders (spin doctors) find themselves in webs of incredulity all of their own making. Problem is they come to believe their own press. Before the "Reshmi Affair" there were a few incidents of unconvincing statements, attempts to shift responsibility, to shut-up an insistent and unrelenting media.
However, it was the appointment of Ms Ramnarine and the stories spun around it to somehow convince a disbelieving public which took a large chunk of credibility out of the Government's communication. Since then there have been a number of attempts, lacking completely in guile. For instance, there is the oft-told tale that the rationale behind the downsizing of Jack and Carolyn was the model for achieving greater ministerial efficiency. Incredibly, this tale is spun at the same time that super ministries and ministers are created in Foreign Affairs/Information, Food Production-plus. In addition to the self-delusion, such a public information strategy is grounded in the unfortunate belief that target audiences are stupid, unable to discern reality. As sure as Jack Warner is ubiquitous, resourceful, politically savvy and much more, the break with his Prime Minister must come. How is that to be spun? It cannot be on the basis of Fifa's decision on bin Hammam. In one of its first efforts at spin-doctoring, the Government said it knew nothing about Fifa's investigative practices to be able to make a decision against Warner based on a Fifa decision. What is more, the Government insisted that nothing has been proven against Warner. That remains the case today.
Aware of those original posi-tions, the recent effort has been to indict Warner through a leak. The story claims that Minister Warner overlooked possible corrupt activity in his ministry. But how is Warner to be penalised when the Prime Minister wondered aloud why should her friends and associates not get jobs, this being in relation to the allegations at National Petroleum. Indeed, such a position was fortified by senior attorneys who expressed a similar view. So why is the Ganesh matter different? The spin will have to be effective. Now before the Government is the challenge to spin its way out of its original position taken on the five per cent wage cap placed on Duke and the Public Service Association. First Tewarie and McLeod suggest "no one is now talking five per cent." The Prime Minister upped the ante and wondered where did this talk of five per cent come from? But reading and listening-in to the stories being spun, the PSA boss says "we too" on any wage settlement above five per cent. With that danger sign raised by Duke, Dookeran, Moonilal and the Government returned to the original position urging the unions to look at non-wage settlements, after all wages are not the only worker benefits.
Inevitably, these turnarounds will force the Prime Minister to engage in another round of damage control statements concocted by the spin doctors as she and the Government realise that no one, least of all the Government, can win the zero-sum game that is a union-led threat of a general strike. To ensure that the Government's spin doctors keep in good nick, it is revealed on the weekend that the Minister of Health, Dr Fuad Khan, continued in his private practice and according to him without the knowledge of the Prime Minister. The good doctor immediately notes there is nothing illegal about his moonlighting. And while he did not say it, the clear intent was to use the Warner precedent: if he could have held on to his Fifa position then there should be no problem with him serving his patients after hours. Notwithstanding the long run-in to the next scheduled election, if the unravelling continues and the spin-doctoring proves inadequate, there will be deep trouble. Perhaps there are those within with sufficient strength of character and independence to say "halt." Maybe the Prime Minister will conclude that spin-doctoring gives low returns and ultimately is counter-productive.