Garvin Nicholas brings back MND

Former attorney general Garvin Nicholas is re-entering the political arena, this time without the United National Congress (UNC).

Instead, Nicholas has re-launched his own political party, the Movement for National Development (MND).

In a statement to Newsday, Nicholas said he was “putting together a team of some of the nation’s most capable and committed individuals” to challenge the two established parties — the incumbent PNM and Opposition UNC — in next year’s General Election.

Nicholas was AG under the UNC for about six months from February 2015 until the General Election in September. Previously, he had served as TT’s High Commissioner the the UK.

Nicholas said over the last two years, he had been giving the idea to relaunch his party much thought and consulted several people. He admitted that he did not believe the current political landscape offered the discerning voter an option.

There is always a challenge convincing people who themselves have leadership ambitions to be part of a team, he said but his party was about giving them the assurance that they would be given the opportunity to be their best selves and shine in their areas of expertise within a framework of equitable national development.

“Everyone cannot be the leader but they can be part of a leadership team that guides TT out of the mess we find ourselves in and be proud to shape and create a country with fortitude, that is sustainable and successful.”

Nicholas made no mention of his former association with the UNC, with which he had run for MP of Diego Martin North/East in 2010 (losing to the PNM’s long standing representative, Colm Imbert). Regarding the possibility of “any old faces” in the present line-up of the MND, he said political experience is necessary to run a country. “This cannot be treated as an entrepreneurial start up. Running a country is serious business as 1.4 million lives depend on good governance. As such, there is expected to be a healthy mix of experienced and new, with the distinct difference of putting country first without the usual shenanigans, bigotry or contempt for citizens. That is the best independence gift I can give to the nation.”