Ms. Kamla Persad Bissessar will be a great Prime Minister according to views obtained from NACTA’s post-election opinion survey after she won T&T’s general elections 29-12. The poll finds that the nation reposes a lot of faith and confidence in Kamla’s leadership. In interviews, people overwhelming support the idea of a female P.M saying a woman will be a far more endearing and trustworthy leader than the males who served as P.M. heretofore. The respondents say Kamla is a mother and grandmother and every home needs a mother to run their household and they feel as the national mother she will run the national household well. The poll also shows overwhelming support for Kamla’s first cabinet pick, Anand Ramlogan, as Attorney General. And people from both sides of the divide support the decision of former Prime Minister Patrick Manning to step down as leader of the PNM. The poll did not ask about a successor to Manning.
These findings were obtained from a snap survey conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association after Kamla’s victory at the elections. The poll interviewed 390 respondents to reflect the demographic composition of the population.
The poll finds that Kamla is loved in every community. Voters told NACTA’s interviewers that they are elated over Kamla’s victory. They say they are confident that she will be down to earth and they expect her to fulfill most of the pledges made during the campaign and do everything to improve the quality of life for all.
Many say they hope her leadership will usher in a new era of bipartisanship and remake the country under a new social contract.
Expectations are extremely high and she cannot afford to make mistakes. People describe her as caring, brilliant, humble, sincere and energetic and they say she offers hope for the future. They hope she will bring government and people together. And they are quite impressed that she avoided the niceties of receptions unlike her predecessors and started serving people right away after swearing in by responding to the floods.
Asked if they like the idea of a female P.M, 99% said yes stating a woman will better relate to the needs of people. Asked if they approve of Kamla being chosen as the P.M, 98% said yes indicating they are very comfortable with her. Asked if they think she will be an effective P.M, 90% said yes pointing out that she has shown she is in control rather than those who felt they would control her. Even PNM supporters say Kamla will do an excellent job. Asked if they support her first cabinet appointment of Anand Ramlogan as Attorney General, 70% said yes with only 20% saying no and 10% offering no response. People say Anand has proven himself to be a brilliant lawyer. Asked if they think former Prime Minister Patrick Manning should resign as leader of PNM, 82% said yes with most people saying that they are fed up with his style of leadership. Voters feel Manning should take responsibility for the PNM’s humiliating defeat by graciously stepping down as leader.
Asked to explain why the opposition won the elections, the two leading reasons were anti-Manning sentiments and a pro-Kamla vote to give a woman a chance because of the failures of her predecessors. They said they are comfortable with Kamla. They also felt her partners Jack Warner and Winston Dookeran also helped to bring about the victory.
Asked what issues the new government should focus on right away, they point to crime, food prices, poverty, water, flooding, agriculture and job creation.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
