We need to rethink this doctrine of collective Cabinet responsibility, how does it apply in our present political circumstances. We must of necessity engage a debate as to whether this doctrine is binding on a government that is comprised of a coalition of interests and disparate views. It is conceivable that as a minority party, the COP could put forward a minority position in the Government when it feels that it cannot support the majority, without, as is normally the case in a one-party government, resigning from the Cabinet.
I think that we need to acknowledge that we are different, that is to say we bring to the Government different views and perspectives, plans and programmes and that together the consensus may be arrived at by the Cabinet but not necessarily so. The minority views in this coalition are just as important as the majority view and are reflective of the party philosophies and ideologies to which we subscribe. There is a real need to construct a coalition of support for all that the Government does and this need cannot be or limited (in this instance) to an electoral strategy.
The collective responsibility doctrine as is currently being applied cannot replace the need to construct a coalition of support not only for the passage of legislation but for codes of conduct as well. It would therefore seem that we are still judging the performance and conduct of the PP Government on the basis of conditions laid down to support a one-party government. The need for consensus building is great. There will be times when our parties disagree (hopefully there will not be many). When those times occur there may be a need to refer it to the higher power of the Parliament for debate and in some instances a national referendum.
Satu-Ann Indira Ramcharan
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