PNM needs to get its internal house in order

The recent bungling of the simple responsibility of the office of the Secretary of the People’s National Movement (PNM) to get safely and assuredly an invitation to its former leader, Dr Keith Rowley, to attend the celebration of the party’s 70 years of existence, is a glaring weakness displayed by the former ruling party.

And that is more so, as all such invitations require a signature of the recipient of the invitation and follow up calls to ensure success. That the PNM’s Political Leader, Penelope Beckles-Robinson, has to talk about reviewing such procedures reduces the secretariat of the party to shambles. What’s more, the bungling takes some gloss off the 70 years of the party in existence; moreover, the PNM has spent more than 50 years in government.

This invitation fiasco also indicates that the PNM is still suffering from political turmoil and urgently needs to get its internal house in order, having been soundly defeated in general elections almost a year ago. This is compounded by the fact that the Government in office has itself left open spaces for an alert Opposition to take advantage of.

Indeed, Dr Rowley’s occasional interventions to set the record straight on matters is a demonstrated weakness of the Opposition, revealing a measure of conflict between himself and the current party leadership.

This is not to say that Dr Rowley, who felt it incumbent upon himself to defend his own leadership record against the claim of Prime Minister Kamala Persad-Bissessar of the party being funded by drug dealers, should not have responded, but rather it should have been a joint effort by the former and the current.

Beckles-Robinson has sought to clear any expectations of herself being as aggressive and assertive as her predecessors, Patrick Manning and Keith Rowley, have been. Sitting, however, in the background with what can be described as weak responses to major issues, has not been sufficient to indicate an Opposition along the path of readying itself to take Government.

There is also the clear indication that former political leader and prime minister, installed by then incumbent Dr Rowley, Stuart Young, is acting as a lone wolf outside of the current leadership of the PNM.

Under the present system of governance, a vibrant Opposition capable of being seriously critical of Government operations and the ability to project itself as a superior and cohesive alternative has not been demonstrated.

In the absence of showing itself as an institutional centre, a powerful body to respond with the capability of a party readying itself to take over Government from the incumbent, the PNM seems to be setting itself up for a long and undistinguished stay in Opposition waiting for a dynamic and cohesive leadership to shake and shape the party into being ready to once again take over governorship of the country.

All of the above is not to favour the PNM for a future government, but rather to preserve the democracy that Trinidad and Tobago has followed since political Independence of having a two-party state, one party in Government and another strong force in Opposition to keep the one inside on its heels to ensure against a dictatorship arising.

A vacuum of a strong Opposition force is being revealed.