For two reasons, T&T never witnessed a general election where all outgoing MPs were returned to Parliament–either some didn't re-enter the race or some went at it but got blanked by voters. In 2015, the trend will continue. Some incumbent MPs will lose (out).
On the PNM side, candidate selection is all but complete. Quite a few incumbents got dumped. The People's Partnership (PP) is yet to agree on how constituencies will be shared. Nonetheless, a fresh face will be sworn in as MP in D'Abadie/O'Meara.
The PP outfit accomplished much under Kamla Persad-Bissessar's oversight. It doesn't automatically mean PP will have an easy time arriving at the winning candidate mix. Unfortunately, several of its MPs have fallen into the twin-pronged pitfall which took out many in times gone by–as soon as they got in, they forgot who brought them to the dance, or became too big for their shoes.
In short, they didn't stay in campaign mode after the election was over. They forgot a fundamental rule–to regain elected office, incumbents must operate as if everything they do impact the outcome of tomorrow's election. For, indeed, it does.
MPs who grasp that concept never switch off their campaign mode. They move heaven and earth to ensure all who went out to bring it home for them are happy from day one. They understand that these people had legitimate hopes which motivated them to drop everything and go out to campaign for their candidate or party of choice.
What are these hopes? It boils down to respect.
At the very least, when people join a campaign team, they expect to be able to influence what goes on in their community if their choice gets in. Along the same lines, they anticipate meaningful and timely responses from their MPs when community concerns are raised.
None of these aspirations materialise when MPs wilfully distance themselves from their campaign team on attaining office. The MP could be a workaholic, voters just wouldn't care.
The few PP MPs who kept in close touch with their 2010 supporters throughout the last five years and made them feel appreciated will most likely get the nod in 2015, if they wish to throw their hat in the ring again.
This is one election where incumbents who treated friendly constituents with disdain won't be able to hang on to anyone's dress tails. The day of the crapaud MP is numbered.
However, 24 hours is a long time in politics.
Richard Wm Thomas
Five Rivers, Arouca