While Energy Minister Stuart Young and Minister of Youth Development Foster Cummings have emerged as frontrunners for the political leadership of the People’s National Movement, at least two political scientists have tossed Brian Manning into the mix.
Speaking during an interview on CNC3 yesterday, as the debate intensifies on who could succeed Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Dr Shane Mohammed said when the time comes there are many other contenders besides Young and Cummings.
Although Young and Cummings have recently been in the spotlight, Mohammed believes neither minister has demonstrated the necessary leadership qualities.
Mohammed said, “While it is that Stuart Young is authentic because he brings a different look to the party, he is quite youthful in that regard, he lacks the decorum and the capacity and the national appeal because he has always been aloof. He has always been unrelatable and he comes across as Keith Rowley 2.0 based on the grooming that he has received, based on his utterances. He comes across very arrogant as well.
“Foster Cummings on the other hand, if you listen to him very carefully, and listen to him on a political platform, and listen to his speeches, he tries very hard to be very Manning-esque, so he tries very hard to sound like (late prime minister Patrick) Mr Manning.”
However, Mohammed said one new name that has popped up as a suggestion for the position is Brian Manning, the Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and son of the late Patrick Manning.
He admitted though, that sources within the PNM had revealed to him that there’s a serious campaign against the younger Manning.
“Coming from the top of the party, all the way down to persons who are not members of the House of Representatives but are members within the Senate, all jostling for a space in San Fernando East with the intention to remove Manning junior from the seat, and he has been getting some serious backlash and bad treatment from within his father’s party,” he said.
But political analyst Dr Bishnu Ragoonath believes Manning is capable of leading the party.
Speaking to Guardian Media via telephone yesterday, Dr Ragoonath said that choice lies within the “bosom of the party.”
Ragoonath said, “All members of parliament can be potential leaders of the party, and I say that bearing in mind several things. Within the PNM, there are three or four deputy political leaders, three of them who are currently in the parliament. The mere fact that the political leader would have chosen these people as deputies would suggest that he has confidence in them to be a deputy political leader. Then you have people like Colm Imbert and Stuart who acted as PM. Then you have people on the outside like Pennelope Beckles, Amery Browne, who has served both locally and internationally. So, you have all of these different levels of people within the PNM.”
Talk about Rowley’s replacement began circulating after he hinted at retirement while making his Budget debate contribution in parliament on October 10.
Ragoonath said all MPs can be potential candidates for the leadership position, but said he believes talk about Rowley demitting office may be premature.
“It is just speculation as to whether or not Keith Rowley will demit office, and if he doesn’t demit office he remains political leader until 2026, when the PNM decides to hold their national election. That is assuming he, Dr Rowley, is going to hold on,” he said.
“If he is not going to hold on and he has decided up front that he is not going to continue as the leader, then the party is going to have to make its decision. The leadership, with the support of the party, will have to make that decision as to whether they will allow Keith Rowley to anoint a successor, or whether they will follow the constitution of the PNM, the membership to elect a leader.”
Efforts by Guardian Media to contact Manning were unsuccessful yesterday, as he did not answer calls.