Dear Editor,
The editorial on the seeming instability in the People’s Partnership Government in Trinidad (SN May 4) is spot on. I travel frequently to Trinidad and conducted polls for NACTA assessing the popularity of the government ever since it was elected a year ago. I conducted six opinion surveys over the last year on the government. There is no instability per se in the government and it will last its full five-year term, if for no other reason, Ministers don’t want to lose the perks they enjoy in being in office having suffered in opposition doldrums for so long.
There appears to be a lack of coordination among the Ministries with Ministers making contradictory statements and Ministers speaking out of turn giving the appearance of instability. The result is a lot of mis-statements from the Ministers which require the frequent intervention of the Prime Minister to put things back into perspective – or out fires as they say in Trinidad. In spite of what party spokespersons may say, all is well with the government’s ability to hold on and muddle through because of its huge majority of 29-12. And people still have a large reservoir of goodwill for the government if for no other reason they don’t want to return to the discredited PNM which made so many blunders. This is not to say the PP has not made blunders. In fact, it has made many unforced errors and people do reprimand them from time to time and the loveable Prime Minister does make timely interventions in response to public opinion. The PM has her pulse on the beat of the people.
One of the questions I asked in a recent poll is whether the government will last its full term, evoking a positive response of almost two thirds of the sample. But this is not to say, people are not disenchanted with the government – a majority is and many have expressed disappointment in aspects of mis-governance. People have called for shuffling of cabinet positions.
And the PM announced on Friday that there will be re-alignment in some Ministries in June after her one-year review of ministerial performances.
People are also disenchanted with the government’s handling of the economy with a majority expressing a lack of confidence in the Finance Minister’s ability to turn around the economy which has been stalled for over a year with rising consumer prices. Also, NACTA’s poll revealed 83% of the nation is dissatisfied with the handling of crime. A subsequent UWI poll financed by Ansa McAl (published in the Guardian) showed 86% dissatisfied with the government’s handling of crime.
The handling of the insolvency of Clico, which was also a major issue is Guyana, hurt the PP government. A NACTA poll found almost half the population dissatisfied with the government’s plan to resolve the CLICO problem by paying investors TT$75K now and the remainder divided in equal installments over 20 years with zero interest. A subsequent UWI poll also found the population evenly divided over Clico — 35% each for and against the government’s handling of Clico. Another question NACTA asked is whether people support government’s plan to resume hanging, 71% said yes.
The subsequent Clico poll found 72% in favour of hanging.
Both the NACTA and Clico polls have found that the population is losing confidence in the government successfully running the affairs of the nation.
But voters don’t see an alternative to the coalition as the opposition PNM in its current form is not appealing. NACTA plans to conduct a one year anniversary poll to assess the government’s performance beginning next week.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
