Will Ato run on his own track?

It is a crass kind of politics, but that is the kind that Messrs Warner and Panday are good at. And its crassness does not mean that the strategy won’t work. It may be that Boldon’s past career as a world-class runner would sway immature minds; it may be that his status as a celebrity would impress a certain voting bloc; and it may even be that his image in the Upper House would make people forget that no such image is present on the Opposition benches of the Lower House.

Boldon himself, however, has already attempted to tout the line that he is above partisan politics, claiming that his agenda is "not about PNM or UNC." This is either disingenuous or naive. After all, Boldon has decided to accept the senatorial appointment at a time when the UNC is in dire straits. Indeed, the only reason he was able to get the appointment was because Roy Augustus resigned in disgust over the shenanigans in the party. Boldon may want to believe that he is above that fracas, but his association with the Panday-Warner clique inevitably brands him. Indeed, his very seating ahead of longer-standing Opposition senators is a calculated reprimand, and Boldon has let himself be the instrument of that insult.

Boldon also claims that his concerns are youth and sport. But even that statement reveals either a lack of political know-how or a pretence of it. After all, Opposition Senators are little save ciphers. To be sure, some of them are appointed because of specialised expertise, but all of them are there solely at the pleasure of the Opposition Leader. As a result, they toe the line; and that some of these senators have now refused to do so is only a sign of the seriousness of the party’s internal imbroglio. But Mr Warner has already hinted that the days of those who have crossed the line are numbered. So for Mr Boldon to argue that his post will help further the causes of youth and sport is hollow, unless his mere eloquence and celebrity status can influence policy on the Government side.

But perhaps Mr Boldon’s most revealing statement is his claim that he has not come into the Parliament for political gain. He may well believe his own words, but he also admitted to being tired of waiting for the PNM government to find a slot for him. "You start wondering whether you are valued," he said. Yet Ato Boldon is a wealthy man and, if he is so concerned about serving his country, why has he not set up his own programme instead of waiting for the Government to find something for him to do? Is this anything but the dependency syndrome on a higher level?

All in all, therefore, Mr Boldon’s entry into politics has not begun impressively. But perhaps he will make up for this over the next few sittings in the Senate — assuming, of course, that he is here and not at his home in the United States.

He must expect that he will be observed more closely than other Opposition Senators. This is not only because of the political situation, but because a main hope for changing the political culture of this country is the involvement of a younger generation — persons in their 30s and 40s — with progressive attitudes and ideas. Yet, on both the PNM and UNC sides, there is no sign that the younger members have anything new to offer the country. So the public will be watching to see if Ato toes the party line or if he will run along his own track.