PM celebrates crossing ethnic divide

A  beaming Prime Minister Patrick Manning noted in the wee merry-making hours of Tuesday morning as he celebrated his party’s victory in the local government election, that it  was the  first time that a political party in Trinidad and Tobago had been able to cross the ethnic divide entirely on its own efforts and not by way of coalition arrangements. “We did it all on our own,” a triumphant Manning stated, as party faithful celebrated having reached this high water mark.

Although buoyed by the historic achievement of having PNM representation in every council in Trinidad for the first time, Prime Minister Patrick Manning nevertheless expressed some emphathy with his opponent Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday. “We know that in politics there are ups and downs. You lose yesterday, you win today,” he told the crowd in Balisier House, which though was smaller than what it was last October, was just as vibrant. The PNM leader said he had always considered “the honourable Basdeo Panday” to be a worthy opponent. “A very worthy opponent he has been and the party he has led,” Manning said magnaminously. Only earlier Panday was on television taking comfort in the thought that if Manning could have “come back” (to office), so could he.

The PNM faithful was not so generous to the opposition party. As Manning announced that the party had won control of nine councils, the Opposition four, there was one draw, the crowd wanted even more victory. “No draws! No draws!” they shouted. “I know you want no draws, but the draw is in Rio Claro/Mayaro,” Manning said satisfied with what he had. He said Almighty God had “given you and given us a great victory and to him first of all I would like to give thanks.”  After 16 years at the helm of the PNM, Manning could now claim that his leadership had produced not only a  “break through” in the Hindu heartland and had also seen the return of Tobago to the PNM fold.

As he mentioned all the Central seats the party won, Manning singled out the two seats in Princes Town, which must he noted must make Minister Howard Chin Lee and Hazel Manning “very happy.” Both had worked in the campaign in that area as indeed all senators were assigned to work in an electoral area. In fact earlier an excited and exuberant Chin Lee had earlier entered Balisier House, singing: “Ah get two seat.” But it was the Chaguanas results that the party felt proudest of — winning 3 out of 8. “And we nearly tie,” Manning added proudly. For all this, he had a “junior” Senator Satish Ramroop to thank. To “our East Indian brothers and sisters” who formerly supported the UNC and answered the PNM’s call to multiracialism, the Prime Minister had this to say: “You have made no mistake.”