Dying UNC seems short on ideas

THE EDITOR: My heroes are politicians like Basdeo Panday, Patrick Manning and Eric Williams. My heroes are the people who led us through challenging circumstances and helped create a modern TT. They were great leaders and their wise, far-sighted decisions improved the lives of many and continue to benefit us today.

Not many politicians today measure up to those historical greats. Whatever you thought of the leadership of Panday, Manning and Williams, the fact is they all possessed strong leadership qualities, guts and conviction.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has two more years left in the PNM’s so it wouldn’t be fair to judge him until his five-year term is completed.

Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who served a full term as prime minister, lacks imagination and conviction and appears to be someone who will do almost anything to regain power.

The lack of quality in our political top tier is weird if you think about it. Politicians are actually very important to us and our daily lives are more affected by politics today than at any other point.

Moreover, we all have opinions about politics. Politics saturates our media, fills our Twitter and Facebook feeds and animates our discussions in the bar. Politics is a sport in TT. We love the bacchanal.

Many of us have nothing but contempt for those in Parliament. We love one party and hate the other.

Listening to the UNC’s Monday Night Forum was boring and painful. Leader Persad-Bissessar lacked charisma and failed to capture my imagination. Her focus was more on bashing the PM by calling him childish and an “Oreo,” rather than outlining her plans and policies for a better country.

The UNC seems short on ideas and lacks imagination. It would be better off with someone like Mickela Panday who would offer a new perspective and bring life to a dying party.

SIMON WRIGHT, Chaguanas