The recent descent into vulgarity in the Trinidad and Tobago House of Representatives, with a minister of the People’s Partnership Government using the cloak of parliamentary privilege to cast the vilest of aspersions on opposition leader Dr Keith Rowley’s parentage and supposed attitude to women, represents a new low in Caribbean, Westminster-style political debates. But ‘debates’ is clearly a misnomer for the vicious, personal attack, which has brought parliament into disrepute in the twin-island republic and which redounds to nobody’s credit, least of all the accuser, her party colleagues and her prime minister.
Here in Guyana, as we count down to the May 11 general election, the political temperature is rising rapidly and, already, there is too much that has been said – particularly since Mr Bharrat Jagdeo entered the electoral fray at Babu John on March 8 – that can only be described as reprehensible race-baiting and baseless ad hominem attacks. In our tit-for-tat, ‘las’ lick’ culture, we should be very careful indeed that we do not plumb the depths just reached in Trinidad and Tobago.
Perhaps those who would take the low road of muck-raking, character assassination and fear-mongering, whether in Trinidad and Tobago or in Guyana, think that they are in some way responding to people’s concerns and exercising strong leadership. Such behaviour, though, is, at best, bullying, serving only to satisfy the worst kind of political bloodlust; at worst, it represents a pettiness of spirit and almost pathological vengefulness that can only divide and fail to unite.
Let us not fool ourselves; there are those amongst us who all too easily confuse bullying with strength and who fail to understand that leadership, especially at the national level, is a lot more than simply standing up for one’s followers and putting the other side in their place. The true leader is the man or woman who can not only galvanise their supporters but who can win over, by the force of their argument and the integrity they embody, even those who might be conditioned to oppose them.
Winston Churchill once said, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Exploring this concept a little more deeply, one earns respect by giving respect.
Perhaps Dr Rowley, in Trinidad and Tobago, was conscious of this, when he asserted, at a function at the University of the West Indies at St Augustine, over the weekend, marking the 34th anniversary of the death of former prime minister Dr Eric Williams, that he has been listening to what people are saying, vowing to be a prime minister “for all the people,” if he wins the election due there this year.
This is the essence of what he had to say on leadership and unity, as reported by the Trinidad Guardian. The country should elect leaders “of strong character, fairness and integrity who choose to put the people first… leaders that listen, take action and hold themselves responsible for the outcome of those actions.” In this regard, he said: “What I hear you saying is that you want unity. I hear you rejecting racism, nepotism and hate. I hear you saying you want a clean campaign, robustly fought without bitterness, rancour or indecency, with respect for all and a willingness to accept the final outcome of a fair process.” He further stated: “What I hear you saying is that you want accountability from your government. You want transparency in all our actions… safety, security and prosperity and you want to trust your government to serve you and not rob you… You want real and sustainable economic opportunity, without discrimination because of class, race, religion or geography… You want one T&T”
We hold no particular brief for Dr Rowley but we commend him for not dignifying the verbal abuse he suffered a few days earlier with a direct response. More importantly, we believe that his message to the people of Trinidad and Tobago is equally applicable to us in Guyana and our own forthcoming elections.
