Putting old wine into old bottles

THE TITLE of this column is a reinterpretation of "putting new wine into old bottles (wineskins).” The message is this: there's little point putting fresh ideas into outdated systems.

In TT, we're able to do one better, or more accurately, worse. Our governance doesn't flicker with any innovative thinking to face today's challenges. Yet, we're happy to pair Stone-Age ideologies with an ancient apparatus of governance.

Let's put a pin in that for now. Have you ever worked hard on a column and put it to bed, only for that column to pee said bed? No, I don't suppose you have. Let me explain. My piece this week was meant to prod the Opposition to transform its approach to keeping the Government honest, making it accountable for decisions affecting our lives.

Take the Vandana Mohit snafu, for example. Her allusion in a Facebook post to the trajectory of covid19 and "karma" demonstrated a grave lack of judgment. Now, the PNM campaigned heavily on its faux success bringing covid19 to heel. Mohit's Facebook post was meant to question that claim given the bush fire covid19 seems intent on becoming.

However, it was poorly worded, undoubtedly guided by the old-school politics of lashin' the Government and came across as opportunistic and grossly insensitive. Rather than concentrating attention on an important national issue, Mohit made herself the focus of opprobrium. She mobilised the Government and its indefatigable drones to do what it does best – make the Opposition the story.

Are you a fan of Steven Seagal films? I'm talking early Seagal, not hair plugs Seagal. He practises a martial art known as aikido. It’s a system of movements redirecting an opponent's attack momentum. This is a skill practised with astonishing efficacy by the PNM and its character assassins and trolls. The party has honed the technique of using opponents' blunders to deflect legitimate oversight about its performance in public office.

The PNM spent the past five years keeping public focus on the Opposition and away from itself. For the most part, it worked...at least for those who voted.

During the election, the country ought to have been concentrating on the gasping economy, persistent foreign exchange drought, an immortal pandemic and unchallenged crime. Instead, conversations were redirected to perceived racist campaign adverts, the sunlight cure, and a physical dome. The opposition, through several blunders, made itself the story.

That brings us to what this column was meant to be about – TT cannot afford a business-as-usual approach to the existential menace on our doorstep. Many haven't worked since March. Businesses are on the brink. Murders and robberies continue without much more than a hmm.

Now is the time for the opposition to corral attention to the issues in a mature, sensible and dispassionate manner. These uncertain times call for enlightened leadership that can objectively examine the substance and source of our troubles. We need insightful and analytical minds that will avoid getting into personality tussles.

It's already clear we're not getting that from the Government. With the exception of a few unfamiliar faces, the PM has put old wine into old bottles. In fact, on election night, Dr Rowley made it clear he interpreted the result as a sign that people are happy with the PNM's policies. So the public shouldn't expect any deviation from the course we've been on. If you're still unsure...Fitzgerald Hinds.

The year 2020 and beyond calls for a completely overhauled take on opposition politics. That's why when it was announced that Anil Roberts was appointed as a senator my column peed the bed. To be clear, the concern has little to do with Lifesport and other unresolved controversies. Roberts' guilt or innocence is immaterial to the main point.

The real problem is Roberts was brought back to reprise his election campaign role – the pitbull. He is meant to "give dem tundah in the house!" Roberts' return is proof the Opposition is terminally wedded to the old adversarial politics that will never move TT forward. Few will have any interest in hearing from them now.

The Opposition has now gifted the Government with an enduring distraction in the person of Anil Roberts. He will be the story; not TT's irrevocable slide, not the peril at our throats.

Neither the Government nor the Opposition is prepared to meet this moment. Moreover, Roberts' resurrection is all the proof you need that we are kinda screwed.