Deciphering the political rhetoric

THE EDITOR: Over the years, many politicians have declared their intentions to change our political culture, to create a new politics or political culture and now even claim to be building a new society.

The rhetoric has always claimed to be for change and for the new. But our experience has been that change has turned out to be exchange and the new to be much of the same old.

Recently, a supporter of one of the two “major parties,” obviously concerned that his party’s rhetoric was putting that party in jeopardy of “not winning” the 2020 general election, posed the question: Who is capable of changing our political culture?

In responding to that query, which must be on the minds of more electors than just this one, I offer the following for your consideration.

Unfortunately, the electoral and political processes are built on the architecture rooted in the premise of a maximum authoritarian leader in the office of the prime minister (tuti capo en tuti capi, as PM Manning put it).

The holder of that office is the leader of the political party which holds the majority of seats out of a first-past-the-post electoral process which, like the US system, appoints a head of government who does not necessarily enjoy a majority of the popular vote.

The PM is endowed with the remnants of the privileges and prerogatives of the old English monarch. Ministers of the executive are appointed at the pleasure of the monarchical PM.

Every political leader aspires to be the next his/her royal highness PM and political party constitutions mimic the maximum power of the PM in the powers of the political leader in the party structure. The party leader is seen as a PM in waiting.

Without changing both the national governance structure and that of political parties which are in waiting or as a result of the democratic renewal of the electoral and political processes, nothing will change in the political culture.

Unless the role of political parties changes from merely being defenders of the rule of the minority (the parasitic oligarchy) to ensuring the rule of the majority, there will be no change in the political culture.

Without the empowerment of the citizens, the electors in relation to the elected, there will be no change in the political culture.

The political culture is a function of the political system and who exercises political power in the society.

Without understanding that changing the political culture is impossible without changing the electoral and political processes, all we will have is more rhetoric devoid of real content about new politics, new political culture, new society with all the fundamentals of the old intact and whatever else their spin doctors invent.

Neither of the PNM-UNC political monopoly nor many other political parties are really interested in fundamental change in the electoral and political processes from which they hope to benefit.

The so-called major parties are the gatekeepers of the status quo and are prepared to move in the direction of even more authoritarian forms of the existing electoral and political processes to protect their privileges and rule of the minority.

On many occasions in our history, members of the body politic have sought to bring about changes in favour of the majority in the colonial and independence periods.

The demands for universal adult suffrage achieved in 1946, for more elected representation in the Legislative Council and the initiatives taken by citizens organised in Pegasus in 1962-67 to define the path of nation-building and by the people led by NJAC in 1970 to demand the fulfilment of the promise of independence are all occasions on which the people have occupied the political centre stage. The political officeholders and parties were displaced.

Unless we the people once again take the centre stage of history and politics, there will be no change in the political culture, in the electoral and political processes in the direction of democratic renewal and empowerment of the majority.

Without this, the gatekeepers will hold on to the status quo and deprive the majority of decision-making power and preserve the political culture which serves them.

CLYDE WEATHERHEAD

via e-mail