Trinidad & Tobago new political era

Dr. Rowley calls for Respect and Empathy from Opposition in Tackling T&T Difficult Days Ahead

By William Doyle-Marshall

“Let’s live together in harmony.” This mantra hung from the lips of Prime Minister-elect of Trinidad and Tobago Dr. Keith Christopher Rowley after his People’s National Movement wrestled the authority to government Trinidad and Tobago for another five years from the clutches of the United National Congress or People’s Partnership headed by Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

   Dr. Rowley was addressing supporters at Balisier House, his party’s headquarters Monday night, when he reminded members of the defeated party when the country pass responsibility to the People’s National Movement, it is not a “we versus them” situation. “We are all in this together and while we form the government, you of the UNC you will form the opposition. But we all expect you to act as a part of the government because your responsibility is awesome and if we accept that we are all inb this together, Trinidad and Tobago, all of us will come out of our difficulty together.” The PNM’s political leader reminded UNC members “we need to respect each other; we need to empathize with each other, we need to feel for each other.”

    Monday’s general election concluded months of what the Election and Boundaries Commission described as ”the most brutal” campaign in the country’s history. Dr. Rowley who rallied his troop with the call “let’s do it together and “we red and we ready” assured nationals that his government will be guided by the fundamental principles of the People’s National Movement and the constitution of Trinidad and Tobago. Earlier in the campaign Dr. Rowley assured a massive gather of party faithful in Woodford Square renamed the University of Woodford Square by the late Dr. Eric Williams, that his government has no intention of practicing politics of spite and dotishness. Monday night in his Balisier House address, he recalled “throughout our campaign we have made it quite clear to the population that these are not the times of milk and honey. There are difficult times ahead. It is like going down the river and I am telling you there are rapids ahead, there is rough water ahead, there are white water sections ahead but if we navigate them successfully, there is calm water ahead.”

Dr. Eric Williams, Father of the naqtion

With one week remaining before the elections, Dr. Winsford James, political scientist and analyst predicted the PNM would be victorious. He noted that the party was responsible for most of the  good basic infrastructure of the country. He suspected if it had been in power over the past five years they would have done more plus. Recognizing that it had a new vision, new leadership and many new people replacing the old vanguard, those undecided voters were likely to support the party.

   Confident that the PNM would be voted into office Dr. James concluded “it would seem to me to be counter-intuitive for a party in power to be faced with those problems and they are very serious problems and still win; that would sugge4st that something is wrong with the PNM or they could have better conditions under which to win.” He  said in a national radio broadcast “this thing is tailor made for a PNM win. So if they don’t win the PNM would have to ask: well what is it that we did so badly wrong. We were not in power for five years.” Without the final official returns from the Election and Boundaries Commission, the PNM captured 23 seats to the opposition 18.