Comparing presidential speeches

When he made his inaugural speech in 2003, former President George Maxwell Richards was arguably as equally daring as Carmona. With then Prime Minister Patrick Manning looking on, Richards boldly declared, “I give assurance and serve warning that I will allow nothing and no one to prevent me from bringing to the tasks before us qualities of independence, even-handedness, impartiality, objectivity, fairness and consideration for all.”

Richards, a university professor, was the first president with no legal background. Perhaps he set out to underline this, quoting liberally from poets, calypsonians and referring to local musicians like Andre Tanker and David Rudder.

In fact, Richards was so daring as to quote lines from Derek Walcott’s sensational poem, ‘The Schooner Flight’: “I’m just a red nigger who love the sea, / I had a sound colonial education / I have Dutch, nigger and English in me, / And either I’m nobody, or I’m a nation”. Many eyebrows were raised on the genteel lawn of President’s House that day. This quote alone, though, went down in history as one of the most daring things ever said in public by a president of this country.

Yet many would question whether the audacity of Richards’ speech was later reflected in his decade-long tenure. For most of that time, Richards seemed to deliberately keep out of controversies, often speaking in a kind of code about the state of the nation. The feeling was that the post of President was like a modern monarch and the post-holder should stay out of politics and bacchanal. The exception came in Richards’ handling of the disastrous 2009 collapse of the Integrity Commission, when he rebuffed the nation for calling for his resignation. And in his last two years, under a different Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Richards’ approach changed considerably. He prematurely acted on the outcry over the Nizam Mohammed issue (upon conferral with the Prime Minister), he spoke out openly for the need for Constitutional reform and made remarks which some interpreted as challenges to the sitting Government. Yet two years out of ten does not change the overall tenor.

In contrast to Richards, Carmona, a former judge, quoted no poets and made no reference to the local arts. Instead, Carmona seemed intent to underline his past as a judge of the International Criminal Court and of the High Court Criminal Division. He opted to quote Vaclav Havel, the first president of the Czech Republic, a figure whose shadow would have loomed over the ICC as well as several legal tribunals at the Hague with which Carmona was involved. At the same time, the new president also seemed intent on making clear his connection with the people, quoting the school motto of the Rose Hill RC “Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.” He also quoted: the national watchwords (which formed the central spine of his speech); Aristotle (Carmona’s middle name is Thomas Aquinas); the United Nations and Pope John Paul II (Carmona is Catholic).

But though he quoted no bards, there was still poetry in Carmona’s lines. In talking about the pains of crime, he deployed the following remark: “every murder is revenged, and revenge is a race that will never end”. The speech was delivered on Monday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium where thousands of races have been run. That line — outstanding already on its own — took on added symbolism in that location. Was this a president who did not need to quote poets, because he was eloquent enough on his own terms?

Former President ANR Robinson’s speech was, compared with Carmona’s and Richards’, relatively tame. Robinson, in 1997, did throw in some flourishes, likening Trinidad and Tobago’s future to Isaiah’s watered garden. But ironically, though his presidency would turn out to be perhaps the most tumultuous of them all, Robinson’s speech was standard and sedate, containing no true hint of the fireworks that were to come. So that, like George Maxwell Richards, his first speech was actually rather misleading.

In his 1987 speech, Noor Hassanali, remarked, “I am not entitled to expect the goodwill of the nation. But I have the responsibility to earn that goodwill.” With his typical humility, he further added, “We received messages from our relatives and friends. I would like to let you know that every message will be individually acknowledged.” His relatively brief speech turned out to reflect his presidency.

Carmona’s speech was the longest inaugural speech in recent times in terms of its word count, coming in at 2,226 words. (Richards’ was the second-longest at 1,983 words.) The new president mentioned the word integrity four times, accountablity six times and responsibility five times, all more than any other president. But as going through all these speeches makes clear: it is easy to make a speech. While words are important, what matters — and what will matter in the coming years — will be actions.

Email: abagoo@newsday.co.tt