Covid19 and politics 2020

THIS is an election year. But it doesn’t feel like one.

Up until the end of February, we were gearing up for those all-too-familiar scenes of large public gatherings at political meetings and walkabouts in constituencies; people waving balisiers or flags or blowing vuvuzelas; the trademark political picong from the hustings and presentation of candidates – all leading up to the ringing of the election bell later this year.

Instead what we have is a deafening silence. All political activity on the ground has ground to a halt. Picong and election promises have been replaced by statements such as “stay at home, stay safe and save lives.” The reason for this is covid19. The virus has brought virtually all activity around the world to a halt. TT has not been immune. One of the activities which has been suspended, for the time being at least, has been politicking in the way that we have become accustomed to.

But a question to be asked with respect to covid19 and the response to dealing with it is, has it inadvertently opened up a “new normal” of politics in TT and elsewhere around the world?

The Prime Minister says politics and the election are the last thing on his mind right now. In an interview on I95.5 FM on March 22, Dr Rowley declared, “You see right now, I am not concerned about the politics of the next election. I am concerned about keeping the people of TT safe to get past this very dangerous, challenging situation that we have.”

He said general elections are fixed by the Constitution, Parliament comes to an end in September and Government has 90 days under the Constitution to call the election. Rowley, who is also PNM political leader, said he is not worried about the political consequences of government’s decisions in addressing the pandemic.

“Let the chips fall where they may.”

‘No time to score political points’

PNM public relations officer Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing supported Rowley’s statement that covid19 should not be treated as an opportunity to score political points.

But the Government’s handling of the pandemic to date does seem to be indirectly boosting its political stocks and winning over people who have been known opponents of the PNM.

Former PP government minister Herbert Volney has praised Rowley for the clarity of his statements about why the current covid19 protocols will remain in effect until May 15. The Government’s response to covid19 has also appeared to have found favour with Volney’s former cabinet colleague Vasant Bharath.

In an interview with Newsday on March 16, Bharath said these are unprecedented and unpredictable times which countries larger than TT are grappling with.

“I support the Government of TT 100 per cent in its efforts to restore medical, economic and psychological stability to our country,” Volney said. But the Opposition UNC is not satisfied with the Government’s response to covid19. Does the UNC think covid19 is a tool to be used for political mileage?

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal said on April 30, “It ought not to be used for political gain.” In making that statement, Moonilal accused the PNM of doing so.

“That is a clear strategy but it will not work, he said. “The PNM will try to make it a covid elections.”

Claiming the stranding of TT nationals overseas during the pandemic is one of the Government’s failures in dealing with covid19, Moonilal said the PNM’s plan “to flatten the curve” and bring covid19 under control involves “thiefing the graph.”

He believed the population would see through this and vote out the PNM. “The people are not foolish. Covid did not destroy the economy and create poverty and joblessness. Rowley and his crew did that before covid arrived.” UNC public relations officer Anita Haynes supported that view.

She recalled TT was facing “high levels of unemployment due to direct actions of the current government, high crime, a stagnant education sector, among other things.”

On March 16, UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar wrote to Rowley asking to meet to discuss a bipartisan approach to dealing with covid19.

At a news conference at the Diplomatic Centre on the same day, Rowley was upset about the letter being leaked to the media before he received it. He asked, “Is it the same Opposition Leader? On Friday (March 13) I tried to speak to you, the population, about this same issue and the Opposition Leader led her crew to vote against the Prime Minister talking to the country in this emergency. Is that the same one who is writing me now?”

​On March 13, in the House of Representatives, Government passed a motion to waive the Standing Orders to allow Rowley to make a statement about covid19, after the Opposition refused a government request to allow him to make the statement. Rowley said, “I am not prepared to take part in any political grandstanding. Right now, I have a serious headache.

I am prepared to work with any and everybody in this country who is prepared to act in the interest of the people of TT. So I don’t want you to separate the Opposition Leader from the rest of the country.”

Rowley and Persad-Bissessar subsequently met at the Parliament on March 20.