Psychologist: Panday addicted to power

According to one psychologist, Panday has a “power addiction” and a “UNC-dependancy”, thus, his fall from grace is bound to have a deep psychological impact.

Psychologist Courtney Boxill deals with issues ranging from anxiety, depression, and relationship issues at his office in Trincity. Boxill explained that Panday’s power-trip is the result of a personality trait that feeds off of the kind of euphoria and worship generated by the die-hard UNC followers: “Basdeo Panday has been the leader of his own political party from the time of the United Labour Front (ULF) and to the United National Congress (UNC). For more than 20 years, he has been a successful leader, and therefore, has received the adulation and accolades from people, especially of members of the Indo-Trinidadian community. This kind of reverence is likely to boost the self-esteem of the recipient. The kind of devotion along with holding a position of absolute power, is very difficult for people to give up.”

Boxill noted that people may misunderstand Panday’s need for power. He said that this mentality is also observed in other politicians, who have also held longstanding positions of power and praise. Panday, and other politicians like Prime Minister Patrick Manning and former Grenadian Prime Minister Eric Gairy, have also received a lot of adulation and also have the tendency toward an addiction to power. “Fidel Castro will not fall into this category because his socialist ideology would prevent him from having that kind of addiction to power,” Boxill said.

He explained that politicians must possess the kind of charisma that draws a following and a personality characteristic that relies on power and praise. Boxill said that this can often develop into a god-complex: “It is in this context that the personality of the individual leads him or her to believing that he or she has almost a god- given right to lead, be powerful and control others. The need for power is a personality characteristic that politicians must have, but when that power goes beyond an unknown threshold, it can become an addiction.”

Not only was Panday the leader of the UNC, but he is the founder of the UNC. This compounds matters further because his persona is essentially bonded to the party, Boxill outlined, and he added that he will not respond well to a successor who wants to assume a leadership role: “Panday is likely to have the perception that the UNC is his and no one should take control of his party. But the maximum leader is not seeking the interest of his party, the UNC followers or the country. Such a leader with that kind of desire for power, will tend to demand acquiescence from his executives and party followers. That is the monkey on Basdeo Panday’s back.”

And like an addict in detox, Boxill expects Panday to experience similar, if not more tormenting, symptoms of withdrawal. “This is what is happening to him at present. He cannot let go of being the Leader of the Opposition and the power associated with that position. It is likely that he is going through a phase similar to ‘delirium tremens’ whereby his body and mind is seeking a fix.”