The fact of the People's Partnership coming together in what seemed to have been a hastily scrambled meeting is a recognition by the leaderships of the parties that there exist serious intra-party problems which need to be addressed. At their news conference Tuesday evening, the leaders did their best to put on the best face to the nation, but beneath the charming smiles of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the more transparent face of acknowledgement of COP leader Winston Dookeran, the signals of tension having to be overcome were quite apparent.
And the tension came out in the words of the two, that is when you go past the expected statements and restatements of commitment to the unity process and government. "There may be some persons outside of the room, which is quite normal, who have different anxieties and different desires, but among all our parliamentarians the commitment is strong to the Partnership," said the Prime Minister, acknowledging in the process what Minister Jack Warner said to the effect that there are problems which need attention.
For his part, Minister Dookeran made it clear that his party was not about to lose itself within the UNC: "I see absolutely no conflict whatsoever in maintaining the identities of the parties and pursuing a common objective of the new Government." However, Mr Dookeran acknowledged "that from time to time there will be areas that we will have to address." Nice diplomatic language for the serious contests inside the Partnership and the feeling from among COP members that the party is not being treated fairly and recognised as a fundamental part of the coalition.
Nonetheless, the meeting early in the new year and the reflection on the need for the Partnership at the party and government levels to be cohesive and focused on problem-solving, while at the same time examining intra-party relations, are good signs for the Government and most of all for the country.
The majority of the electorate did not vote a mere seven months ago to install a new government and to have it shatter almost before it has begun to deliver on its mandate promises. Therefore, acknowledgement of the problems is indicative of an intention to find solutions.
The country should take it as a sign of maturity for the political leaders to have come together at this time to recognise that they just cannot go on in the manner they have: Ministers contradicting each other, senior members taking pot shots at each other, and an incessant flow of troubling ole talk. That is not what the country voted for, and that is not what it expects. And this more so at a time when the major problems of the society remain unresolved, in many ways without being seriously broached. In such a situation we think of crime, first on the list of lingering major disruptions to life. Secondly, the revival of the economy and then bringing calm to the industrial relations climate with the Government being proactive to shift the unions away from negative actions to sit down at a tripartite table to resolve problems in the best interest of all.
It gives comfort to no one that these matters remain outstanding while tension and conflict have been brewing within the Government. However, the hurried meeting and the many platitudes uttered at the news conference are not solutions, and the Government must know by now that slick public relations and a stable full of former journalists issuing and making statements will not resolve anything. The fundamental construction of a coalition-brick by painful brick-needs to take place if meaningful unity, beyond nice statements, is to take place.