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By Selwyn R. Cudjoe, Ph.D.
July 10, 2024
On June 25, 2016, I wrote in this space: “Nine days ago, when I arrived in London, I still wanted Britain to remain in the European Union… There was a sense of nostalgia in my heart, but my wish was not…
“Despite other issues, xenophobia ultimately prevailed. There was a split between the metropolitan heartlands and the countryside; between the elite and the masses; between some who saw themselves as global citizens and others who celebrated a bulldog, isolationist identity and a more conservative England.”
Eight years later, the British people have woken up from their stupor and corrected their folly. On Friday morning, British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer jubilantly addressed his followers after his historic victory: “People across the country will wake up to the news that a burden has been lifted, a burden has finally been lifted from the shoulders of this country.”
Many British people regretted their previous choices, and the Conservative Party suffered the most painful defeat in its 200-year history.
In May 2017, I traveled to Paris to explore similar phenomena. I wrote: “Last Monday, in the frenzy of the French election, I went to the Paris Exhibition Center to attend Marine Le Pen’s presidential campaign rally. Her (Marine Le Pen) right-wing demands have made many French people and progressive forces in the Western world uneasy…
“The hall was filled with excitement. Le Pen supporters waved French flags and the air was filled with Ravel’s Bolero. There were fewer than ten black faces among the thousands of white people. This dazzling whiteness did not scare me…
“An old woman said: ‘She (Marina) talks to the poor. No one else does that. She wants to protect them from immigrants and terrorists. They are afraid of losing their jobs but she can’t solve their problems.’” (May 7, 2017)
Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson used similar sentiments to win the trust of the British public.
Emmanuel Macron defeated Marine Le Pen in 2017. Last Sunday, he was not so lucky in the first round of France’s election. The Financial Times wrote: “Marine Le Pen’s far-right party defeated President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist coalition in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections yesterday…
“The far right has not been in power since the Vichy regime of 1940-44, which collaborated with Nazi Germany. Now it could move from the political margins to the heart of government. It would be the culmination of a decade of efforts by Le Pen to purge the party of its poison, including by driving out the father of its co-founder.” (July 1).
I spent a month in South Africa and Swaziland (now Eswatini) in June and July 2017. I lamented that President Jacob Zuma was “giving the country’s resources to an Indian family while poverty among black South Africans worsens”. Cyril Ramaphosa, then South Africa’s deputy prime minister, said: “Our country is falling apart. We cannot sit back and watch our country sink… We cannot allow anyone, whether it be a party leader or a foreigner, to come here and loot this country. We have worked so hard for our freedoms which are now under siege.” (July 2, 2017)
On February 9, 2018, Cyril Ramaphosa was elected president of South Africa. He had six years to put things right. A few weeks earlier, he had behaved badly and people were unhappy with him. The African National Congress (ANC), founded on January 8, 1912, had lost an election for the first time since it came to power in May 1994. Sometimes voters’ words and actions are very effective.
Last Friday, to the surprise of many, Kamla Persad-Bissessar supported the government’s Bail (Amendment) Bill, 2024 .
Our grieving leader thanks Hurricane Beryl for messing with her mind, causing her to do inexplicable things. The UNC often says “no”, so he thinks it is impossible for the UNC to say “yes” to a piece of legislation that is in the interest of the people. However, he is right to hope that the bill will encourage the police and judiciary to bring criminals to justice more quickly.
Politics is a funny game. Sometimes the changes can be very dramatic. UNC may not have a chance at all to win the next election in 2025, although it is possible that the election could be held before then.
However, if the leader of the opposition can pull herself together and become more actively involved in the day-to-day politics of the country, then the UNC may surprise us all. She just needs to believe that her party can win.
We can never predict how people will behave. The world is changing rapidly and sometimes unexpected situations arise. It will be interesting to see what happens politically in Trinidad and Tobago over the next 12 months.
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