THE leadership change in the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) is not an indictment of Mia Mottley.
That’s the view of political analyst Dr George Belle, who said the BLP was served by two effective leaders in Owen Arthur and Mottley.
“I have no doubt that in relation to pulling people away from across party lines or people that are in the centre, that Owen Arthur would have greater pull than Mia at this time. I think she could consolidate the party but whether she could pull people across at this time, if you are making a comparative point, she may not be able to do so as affectively as he could,” Belle said.
“They (BLP) have the benefit of two leaders of national stature and Owen Arthur because of who he is, a long-time Prime Minister, would have the capacity to pull people across the entire electorate in a way that nobody else could.”
Belle said the former Prime Minister would not want to be leader of a divided party, adding that he would have to work on building unity in the ranks.
The political analyst said it came down to what the main group of Opposition MPs felt was in their best interest.
“It is what the parliamentarians wanted. They are the representatives of the BLP and it is on that basis they are given legitimacy and authority to make the selection of a leader, and in any event that is how the Westminster system works.
“The only motive I can identify for the group of persons in Parliament now to support Owen Arthur’s return is if they were feeling some degree of anxiety about the possibility that an election could be called earlier than expected and that it would also be a snap election,” he said.
“Politics is about power, and power is a condition that cannot be bluffed. It is like love. You don’t beg someone to give you a break in politics. You either have it or you don’t have it, and in a situation like that, it comes down to survival or winning. Politics is warfare by any means.”
Belle told the DAILY NATION Mottley was young enough to recover from this political defeat.
“In a political career, you can have many Waterloos. You have to learn the art of how to survive, how to recover, and recognise there might be victory later down the road.
“Certainly, a person as young as her and, as politically skilled as her, will come back. Remember, they were making a choice out of two good political leaders. That is what it came down too. It is not that she is a bad political leader. She is a very effective leader. It is just that they are saying at this time that the other person is better for them.
“All she has to do, which is very difficult with political rivalries, is to be patient. In a sense, ride out the defeat, tend to her wounds, and come back out later.”
Belle said judging from what he heard on the radio call-in programmes yesterday from people purporting to be supporters of the Democratic Labour Party, many of them were saying that Mottley was “unfaired” and should still be Leader of the Opposition. (MK)
