Get Balisier House in order

THE PNM is floundering. What was supposed to be a close election turned out to be anything but, thanks in no small measure to a low voter turnout reflective of disaffection among party membership.

Pennelope Beckles-Robinson on May 6 received her instrument of appointment as Opposition Leader at President’s House, declaring in a pitch-perfect speech that “true leadership is not necessarily loud, aggressive, or degrading.” Yet the tone of conciliation and maturity she has set has been undermined.

On the same day, Faris Al-Rawi issued a battle cry to party supporters, warning of coming “terror, torture, lies” and persecution.

A rash of recrimination has erupted. Officials have questioned the process by which not only Ms Beckles-Robinson was selected but also Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly and Colm Imbert as party chairman and vice-chairman. Foster Cummings has spoken of people being “recruited to attack” him as general secretary and washed his hands of the general election strategy.

Dr Keith Rowley has momentarily returned to the gayelle of public life just to breathe fire at Dr Amery Browne over the wording of a social media caption.

Balisier House is yet to settle.

But with Parliament’s opening imminent, the imperative on the opposition to get its bearings is more urgent than ever.

The PNM wants to look forward. A special general council meeting is due on May 16 to discuss the conduct of an internal election.

“On each and every occasion the PNM has lost, we have recovered,” Ms Beckles-Robinson said in April. But for the party to move forward, it needs to come to grips with its immediate past.

For the PNM to recover, it needs to confront, acutely, the reasons for its electoral loss. It is this element of reflection, which requires humility, that is missing in the hyper-charge of the squabbling. The April 28 result reveals a disconnect between the mood of much of the country and some officials who today sit within the rooms of the party of Dr Eric Williams. That should change.

Despite the optimism of Ms Beckles-Robinson, the way forward is perilous.

The UNC’s 26-seat majority means the 13 PNM MPs are in an enfeebled position.

The outstanding issue of political leadership further plucks a feather from the cap of the Opposition Leader, even though she has made history in being the first PNM female to hold the post.

A cabinet agenda already placing emphasis on aspects of the last decade of PNM rule will not assist.

But the PNM is needed now more than ever. It remains the principal party of opposition and the most probable alternative government. Democracy demands that officials swiftly get Balisier House in order. Unity might be a good place to start.