Tobago decides

FARLEY Augustine’s ringing of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election bell on December 1 is the start of a process that marks remarkable transformations on the local political scene. Not only will Mr Augustine be put to the test but also his administration’s relationship with the central government.

Unusually for a local poll, foreign policy matters have emerged as pre-eminent. The election will be the first opportunity for citizens to weigh in on the decision to allow the US to install military-grade radar at the ANR Robinson International Airport. It will be something of a referendum on both Mr Augustine and the Prime Minister.

Smoothed over in recent days by the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration has been any sense of tension between the two islands on the radar issue. After Mr Augustine initially said he was unaware of the details, and after the PM said he did not have to be, Attorney General John Jeremie and Minister of Defence Wayne Sturge were dispatched to brief the leader of the Tobago People’s Party (TPP).

Mr Augustine now feels assured the equipment won’t be used “to attack anybody,” even as he concedes this country “could not stop Trump.” On December 2, ex-THA councillor Certica Williams-Orr, on a TPP platform, described the radar as a “Christmas gift.” Last week, the party’s Tobago East MP David Thomas said it was “necessary.”

It will be the TPP’s first THA election since being formed in 2023 after Mr Augustine broke away from Watson Duke’s Progressive Democratic Patriots and could mark Mr Duke’s swan song, if not the nail in his political coffin, after a disappointing run in the April 28 general election. The TPP’s sweep of both Tobago seats in that national poll strongly bolsters Mr Augustine’s chances heading into 2026.

Also tested will be the opposition PNM and whether it has recovered ground since its near-total washout in 2021 and since April. That the party will have a steep hill to climb is suggested by the defection of Keigon Denoon, its well-liked Tobago West constituency chairman, to the TPP. At the same time, the fact of Mr Augustine’s incumbency as chief secretary may weigh down upon his 14-1 tally in the assembly.

The popular UNC leader has maintained closeness with Mr Augustine, going so far as to adopt the TPP motto of being the “anchor” of the “greatest little island on the planet” during her visit to Tobago in November. Hoteliers worry about lower tourism receipts because of the US radar, but Ms Persad-Bissessar has, through licences, unlocked billions in aggregate revenues.

Ordinary Tobagonians will weigh in on these matters and will probe the ultimate significance of the surveillance equipment at Crown Point come January 12.