Analysing THA election

While the ruling party won eight of the 12 contested seats, this was a reduction of its previous majority of 11 to one. Moreover, in many of the seats, the outcomes were close enough to conclude that a significant proportion of Tobagonians are not pleased with how the PNM-controlled THA is running the affairs of the sister isle. The opposing Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) performed quite creditably, given that it is a new organisation which would hardly have had the campaign resources of the PNM. At the same time, a majority of Tobagonians seem satisfied enough to have stained their finger in favour of the PNM candidates.

The PNM strategists are, presumably, wise enough not to make too much of this victory in the national context. Tobago’s situation is different in important ways to Trinidad’s, most particularly in respect to crime. Whereas the main island has a murder rate of 38 per 100,000 persons, Tobago’s rate is just nine per 100,000 persons. This is still very high for a small community, but since the rising murder rate didn’t affect Trinidad’s voting last year, there is certainly no reason that Tobagonians should have taken this into their political calculations when they went to the polling booth on Monday. That Government Senator Martin Joseph should have gone across to the sister isle for the THA election only shows that he is more active as a PNM strategist than as the National Security Minister.

Although Tobago’s and Trinidad’s fates are bound together, the sister isle’s specific challenges in the coming year are also somewhat different. The expected economic downturn is going to affect everyone, but it may disproportionately affect Tobago if, as expected, a recession engulfs Europe and North America. In such a situation, one of the first items people remove from their budgets is vacation travel, and tourism is of course the mainstay of Tobago’s economy. If there is a downturn, therefore, Tobagonians are going to be more dependent on funding from the central government to see them through lean times. Indeed, it may be this realisation that persuaded many Tobagonians to vote PNM, rather than any unshakeable loyalty to the party.

But, as returning Chief Secretary Orville London said on winning his post, the election is now past and Tobagonians must put aside political differences and concentrate on the challenges ahead. The sister isle has had some setbacks within the past few months, especially with the murder of a Swedish couple and the robbery of a high-profile Hollywood star. Luckily, the latter incident had no fallout since the victim, singer and actress Queen Latifah, had only praise for TT when she appeared on America’s most popular late-night talk show a few days after leaving Tobago.

That in itself provides a guide for Tobago to market itself effectively in the coming year. Tobagonian hoteliers have already begun implementing new strategies, from price reductions to more targeted advertising. Such strategies must not be carried out piecemeal, however, but done in a unified manner so Tobago can be advertised as an ideal destination for both budget-conscious tourists, as well as the mega-rich who don’t have to watch their wallets even in the midst of a recession.

Most of all, Tobagonians must bear in mind that politicians come and politicians go, but the people’s basic needs always remain the same. That is why they must pull together now.