(Trinidad Guardian) The embattled founder of the Independent Liberal Party (ILP), Jack Warner, is officially back on the political scene with the United National Congress (UNC) less than a month before Local Government Elections on August 14. It is, however, unclear in what capacity.
Warner’s return was inadvertently leaked by UNC councillor Adrian Ali on Friday, after he shared a photo of the former FIFA vice president standing next to St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen, the party’s deputy political leader, on his Facebook page. The image sparked conversations of an alliance, but it was pulled sometime later.
Guardian Media contacted Warner, Ameen and UNC Public Relations Officer Dr Kirk Meighoo to inquire when and where the image was taken but feedback was limited. They remained tight-lipped on the developments, except to say that more would be revealed on Monday.
Several hours after the conversation with Meighoo, a flyer was uploaded to the UNC’s Facebook page informing the public of a joint meeting where Warner is tipped to give an address. The party will hold its Local Government Elections campaign meeting at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya, on that day.
It will be his first time on a UNC platform in ten years.
Leader of the National Transformation Alliance Gary Griffith will also take the stage where the party’s political leader, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, is expected to be the featured speaker. Warner is expected to speak just before her.
This is not the first time that Warner and Persad-Bissessar have reunited. In February, they were captured liming, their arms locked together, at the UNC fundraiser “I Love Choka”, a Carnival fete at the Centre of Excellence.
Strange bedfellows
Warner and Persad-Bissessar were Cabinet colleagues and friends before the 2010 snap general election.
However, those years of friendship ended once Warner was accused of corruption during his tenure at FIFA in 2013. He resigned from the Cabinet as national security minister and Chaguanas West MP two days later, and Persad-Bissessar distanced herself from her long-time colleague.
The split was bitter.
Warner then formed the ILP, competing against the UNC in past elections and the mudslinging began. In 2015, he promised to do anything to unseat her following her denial that he helped her win the 2010 polls.
In 2022, he alleged that he worked with the PNM to do just that because she “hurt him passionately and also with things”. When they reunited publicly in February, Warner told Guardian Media that this was the beginning of things to come. Their coming together now for the Local Government Elections is evidence of that statement.
It should be noted that Warner is still fighting US extradition on the alleged FIFA issues.
Political analysts disagree on Warner’s impact
Rampersad: He has the acumen to bring out supporters from the ground
With the shocking news that Warner and Persad-Bissessar have reunited despite their checkered past, political analysts are in disagreement over whether his return will make an impact in the upcoming Local Government Elections on August 14.
Dr Indira Rampersad was not surprised by Warner’s return considering the UNC’s open call to politicians to join forces on June 14. However, she acknowledged that some members of the Opposition may not be happy with their rekindling.
“Jack Warner does have cocoa in the sun, as we say, and there will be some fallout. But I think they’re looking at a bigger picture here where they can broad base the party and bring in some of the votes that they would have lost in 2015,” she said.
“He has national, regional and international reach. He has the resources, he has the capacity, he has the acumen to bring out supporters from the ground and from nooks and crannies from the lesser constituencies or corporations as the case may be.”
Mohammed: He is entering the lion’s den
However, geopolitical analyst Dr Shane Mohammed said this alliance would not serve the UNC as the People’s Partnership did in 2010 when it trounced the People’s National Movement. According to Dr Mohammed, Warner is entering the lion’s den in a party that is divided about his return.
“I think Mr Warner understands very much that there are people within the UNC who he has to work with that blatantly do not like him and have nothing good to say about him,” he said.
“It’s not a partnership in the true sense of what it was in 2010, and I don’t believe that it is going to materialise like that because of all of the events that took place,” he added.
Dr Mohammed also suggested that citizens are not inspired by discussions on local government platforms as conversations among both sides of the political divide appear to be centred on 2025 campaigns. He does not believe the country will embrace this.
Moreover, he questioned the UNC head’s failure to on-board other parties contesting these polls.
“There are other political parties, for example, the Progressive Empowerment Party and the Re-United Farmers Alliance. That was something that should have been brokered to pull together all political parties that are contesting the elections. That should have been something that the UNC, through Mrs Persad-Bissessar, should have been on top of the ball with,” he said.
Ragoonath: I can’t say what is his political acumen
Meanwhile, political analyst Dr Bishnu Ragoonath said he was unsure if 80-year-old Warner could amass the support he once did.
“I am not sure since the ILP literally went dormant after the 2015 elections having not been able to win any seats. I cannot say with any surety as to what is the political acumen that Jack Warner will bring to any alliance at this point,” he said.
