Last hurrah

ONE OF the most unusual election seasons today reaches its climax as political parties make final pitches. It is April 26. Little might shift before April 28. Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that up to this point the campaigns run by all have been extraordinary. And contradictory.

“A bold new chapter” dominates the PNM’s messaging, but the book is ten years old. Stuart Young’s tenure is, for now, the shortest. Should he return to Whitehall, the PNM will be poised to enjoy a 15-year run unseen since the days of Dr Eric Williams.

The historic transition of power from Dr Keith Rowley to Mr Young cannot be divorced from the party’s overall policy position of advancing the course. If that transition represents a pact, the PNM seeks to make another contract with voters. The election is not just about its 182-page manifesto’s promises. It is a referendum on the Constitution.

Mr Young wants the country to look ahead. But he had to overcome, at the start, his deep past. He issued a sensitive apology to all victims of bullying. His lightning strike of dissolving Parliament, however, brought focus back to the present and showcased boldness. Still, over his shoulder was the special arrangement of Dr Rowley remaining as political leader. At times, this has been a mixed blessing. The party’s election-day machinery will say a lot about Balisier House unity.

Meanwhile, the UNC has coalesced around Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who is promising a government in which “everybody wins.”

But amid a hodgepodge of “minifesto” measures, it remains an open question what the ideological vision underpinning the party involves and who this “everybody” is. The controversial ideas of stand-your-ground laws and wider gun ownership remain alive, according to officials this week. The NTA’s Gary Griffith maintains his anti-crime plans were plagiarised. A ten per cent pay rise for workers will be funded by vague cuts. However, such issues have taken a back seat to a very public purge of dissidents.

Just as the mechanics of power have dominated the PNM pitch, so too the UNC’s messaging has been filtered through the fluidity of defections in both directions. Ironically, such fluidity seems to be what unites parties in this election. Far from demonstrating indiscipline or betrayal, this augurs well for the maturity of TT politics, so long irretrievably tied to race.

In this regard, the fate of Mr Young and of third parties might be particularly key in gauging the wider climate. The latter’s campaigns, too, have been more about the power to register protest votes rather than true messaging. Even so, the real and final message, on Monday, will come from voters. It is voters, not just leaders, who might make history.