Stepping up to stepping down

SIX DECADES after independence, our political system is still heavily influenced by the Westminster model. Except in one crucial respect.

Political leaders in the UK tend to drop like flies. David Cameron quit after the Brexit vote; his successor Theresa May quit after failing to pass her Brexit deal. Jeremy Corbyn quit after losing two elections.

In contrast, our political leaders have a less straightforward relationship with the notion of resignation.

Amid calls for her to resign, Kamla Persad-Bissessar has seemingly absolved herself of any say in the matter and left her fate in the hands of her party.

In contrast, in the flush of victory, the Prime Minister said on election night, “This could easily be my last term in politics.” However, he later declined to clarify this statement.

Smaller parties – even those that have never won a seat – have punched above their weight on the matter of accountability. There has been an impressive flurry of resignations, even by politicians the general public has never heard of.

The varied positions are unsurprising in the context of a political culture in which leaders like to step up but seem to have difficulty stepping down. In fact, for some leaders, stepping down is a way to step up.

Consider Eric Williams’s 1973 announcement that he would take no steps to seek re-election. He later changed his mind, to the chagrin of those who came out to seek PNM leadership. (Incidentally, it was a resignation from a key commission that precipitated the start of Williams’s political career.)

Such manoeuvring is only made possible in a system that does not impose term limits; a system inherited, ironically, from Westminster.

But in the UK there are now fixed dates by which elections must be held, and therefore some degree of certainty. The same cannot be said here, where an election date nestles quietly in a prime minister’s back pocket.

The result is a system that would make Lazarus blush. We have leaders who have resigned one, twice, even three times but still they return to their positions or retain ties that render their demitting a mere formality.

Indeed, when it comes to ministerial portfolios, we have also had our fair share of “resignations” that have not been accepted by those with the purported power to do so. Dr Williams, for instance, refused the resignation of his attorney general Karl Hudson-Phillips (who would later fail to unseat Dr Williams after Williams’s “retirement”).

So it would be good to have a discussion about accountability and who should or should not go, and in what circumstances. Indeed, far too often there is the impression that leaders cling to power.

But we have to realise the tone is set by the rules of our political system. Those rules are overdue for reform.