A leader blinded by self
THE EDITOR: Whenever a people mesmerised by the charisma or erudition of a political leader, permit him to display with impunity his contempt for them, as Williams did so frequently, they cross the line between the security of democracy and exploitation and oppression by autocracy and petty dictatorship. "When I talk not a damn dog bark," "Who doh like could get to hell out of here," "When I say come, he cometh" etc are all indicative of the mind set of the "Messiah," a level of bombast alas, now returned to exact its awesome price for the apathy which encouraged it. Thus are dangerous precedents established. The present custodian of the Williams legacy, lacking either the erudition or personality of his Messiah, has obviously learned and forgotten nothing during his long tenure as serving Parliamentarian, thus his own autocratic style. As a dedicated, if incompetent disciple of the master, Manning is yet to progress beyond political expediency. As such, therefore, he poses the most potent threat to the progress, peace and prosperity of a country which after six years of equitable performance oriented, progressive and democratic governance, however villified, is not prepared to accept less. No clearer manifestation of the insensitivity and arrogance of autocracy, is available, than manning’s recent chiding of Caricom colleagues, identified as recipients of our largesse, distributed without consultation, while so much is needed at home! Given the questionable legitimacy of December 24, 2001, the unaddressed reports of intimidation in the unmonitored election of October 7, 2002 and current attempts to dilute constitutional rights, legal process and judicial independence in his determination to retain power at any price, aside from nurturing the current increase in organised criminal anarchy, can only result in bloody violent confrontation in a society divided as never before along racial and geographic lines. Eclipsing even the foregoing is the already alacrity with which otherwise intelligent citizens have brought into a clever PNM orchestrated campaign which convinced many, against all available evidence, that his deposed rivals were as corrupt, or more so, than his own, or any previous PNM administration. The tragedy of that much valued fiction, designed to hobble the prospects of any viable democratic alternative is the strongest incentive to a dysfunctional electorate regardless of affiliation or ethnicity, to resort in desperation to the bullet, rather than the ballot. T G MENDES Port-of-Spain
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"A leader blinded by self"