The news that Winston Dookeran has voluntarily decided to leave his jahaji bundle and walk has moved some to tears. Clearly, since his first walk with his bundle at the suggestion of Jack Warner, he has gained some respectability and stature in the now teary eyes of many. Without doubt, Dooks caused a paradigm shift in T&T politics at great expense to the nation. His refusal in 2007 to enter into an accommodation with the UNC en- sured the disastrous return of the PNM to power and set the nation on a three-year slide into economic ruin via financial exploitation and criminal extravagance.
Today, what sets his party apart are the tensions between those who "only have their best to give" (Prakash) and those who are clamouring for the right of the tail to wag the dog. Anil stands somewhere between those two factions, anomalously seeing his party's share of the spoils as equitable, but not sufficiently dominant.
The PP Government will survive the ambitions of the wagers, firstly because the UNC ensured its own majority, and also because it is performing creditably well despite the best efforts of critics. The COP remains a legitimate minority party, and if it stays faithful to the electorate will continue to play its supportive role in advancing the nation against exploitative PNM ambitions. As an outsider, if I may, I wholeheartedly endorse Ramadhar to fill the void. His commitment to excellence is indisputable.
MF Rahman
Via e-mail
