Kamla’s challenge

Ms Persad-Bissessar, who is the Member of Parliament for Siparia, has been elevated only because her political leader, Mr Basdeo Panday, has been sentenced to jail for two years. According to the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, this means that he can no longer carry out his functions as an MP and, therefore, as the Opposition Leader. So President George Maxwell Richards had to remove Mr Panday from his post forthwith and appoint the MP who commands the support of the majority of MPs who do not support the Government. That nod was given to Ms Persad-Bissessar.

However, she received that support by only the slimmest of margins — eight of a possible 15. And it is not even clear that the support she has received was the result of a democratic process within the UNC hierarchy, or simply the result of instructions issued by her leader from his jail cell. UNC spokespersons have denied the latter rumour but, at this juncture, UNC mouth-pieces have little credibility with the general public.

But this is not the only twist to Ms Persad-Bissessar’s elevation. It is already apparent that Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj is being positioned to take over the UNC now that Mr Panday’s jail time has cut his political twine. Once the sentence was delivered, the Panday-supported executive wasted no time in sidelining anointed Political Leader Winston Dookeran and pushing Mr Maharaj forward. So the only reason that Mr Maharaj is not assuming the post of Opposition Leader is that he is not an elected MP. And, that being the case, there are almost certainly moves afoot to make him one in the shortest possible time. Mr Maharaj will most likely have to wait until the next general election, unless an Opposition MP can be persuaded, or forced, to vacate his seat in order for Mr Maharaj to contest it in a by-election.

But, be that as it may, it would appear that Ms Persad-Bissessar is only keeping the Opposition Leader’s seat warm until Mr Maharaj can fill it. And, of course, Ms Persad-Bissessar is well-versed in this task. Her appointment as Attorney General in 1995 was the first time a woman had been appointed to the post in Trinidad and Tobago. But, after the few months it took Mr Maharaj to clear up the outstanding matters in his law firm, Ms Persad-Bissessar was demoted to Legal Affairs Minister — a demotion she meekly explained as being the purview of her political leader.

But Ms Persad-Bissessar lost political credibility for her meekness, although it now appears to have worked in her favour. Few people would question her intelligence and capability. She has been a leading spokesperson for the Opposition and one of the Parliament’s foremost debaters. Those qualities, allied to circumstance, have now placed her in a key position in the Parliament and within her own party.

This means that Ms Persad-Bissessar has a political challenge of a kind she has never faced before. If she wants to parlay her formal power into political influence, she has to win more MPs, and more UNC executive members, over to her side. Doing so would require not only personal charm, which she has in abundance, but also the ability to persuade party members and the general public that the UNC has a better chance of winning office with her, rather than under the leadership of Mr Maharaj and the Jack Warner-led clique.

This would be no easy task for anyone, and it will be made even more difficult for Ms Persad-Bissessar because of her sex. This newspaper wishes her well in her new role, and in the challenges she will surely face, but we harbour no high expectations of an Opposition Leader elevated with so much baggage.