Government needs to get off ‘high horse’

THE EDITOR: The Government must be relieved by the advent of Christmas season with all its distractions from the mundanities of human existence. The relief comes from the fact that at least for little time citizens will be focused on other things than the Government’s incompetence and its apparent failure to resolve the simplest issues, all this while the problems continue to mount, not by degrees but by leaps and bounds. And of course the distractions are going to continue through the Carnival season until the euphoria evaporates and the citizenry comes to its senses. All of a sudden the realisation will dawn that we are stuck with a Government that does not know whether it is coming or going and the problems, which we had before the start of the Christmas season, are worse than ever.

We do not even have the hope that the Government will use the respite of the festival season to do some serious introspection and come up with a meaningful programme to address the problems in our society, instead of the stupid meaningless platitudes and promises to which we have been treated over the years. If politics made any sense at all, the Government would consult meaningfully with the Opposition, not in the bullying know-it-all fashion that is the norm, but as equals with respect for each other’s views and, as difficult as Basdeo Panday can be, some benefit may come from it. If nothing else, at least they would understand and hopefully respect each other’s positions. But such dialogue must be based upon a willingness to really listen to each other, to try to understand what the other party is saying, not trying to score points or ridicule each other.

There are those who would say that Basdeo Panday would never subscribe to any such dialogue but we should not condemn it before we try it. Previous attempts were tainted by the condescension of the Government, by Patrick Manning’s smugness and self-importance, which continues to manifest itself, for example by the insistence on the wearing of the Balisier tie, almost as a slap in the face of non-PNM supporters. It is this kind of disdain for public opinion that creates the distrust and separation between the “ins” and the “outs.” It would be a good start towards inclusion for Government ministers to eschew the Balisier tie for something else that does not alienate non-PNM citizens. The Government needs to remember that there is third, larger body of the opinion in the country, that is, people who do not support either political party “the undecideds.”

It is unbelievably galling to see Government ministers appointed to office to look after the welfare of all the people (“without fear or favour, with malice towards none”) standing before the nation that they have sworn to serve wearing their ridiculous Balisier ties. It is insulting, to say the least. The Prime Minister could condescend to set the tone by removing his then perhaps the others would gather up the courage to remove theirs and maybe the foundation could be laid for the start of meaningful national dialogue. But the Government has to start the process by getting off its high horse and reaching out to the citizenry, including the Opposition, because they are citizens of the nation with the same right to representation.

KARAN MAHABIRSINGH
Carapichaima