The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible. – Oscar Wilde, Irish writer and poet.
WE?ARE?SURE that after Gercine Carter’s revealing interviews in yesterday, much of the mystery that has allegedly surrounded Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has been dissipated.
We know that he loves calypso – and probably hums along with his favourite artistes. And since he has musicians for cousins – singer Ronnie D and guitarist Mike Sealy – we could have our first recorded calypsonian Prime Minister.
That would definitely put the pin in the charge against him of aloofness and comfort in hermitage.
We can therefore look forward to seeing more of him in the calypso tents next Crop Over; and, who knows, the Celebrity Tent may yet be able to drag an appearance out of him.
More realistically, we anticipate his being more “around and about” – as many of his contemporaries are – since we now clearly comprehend that our Mr Stuart enjoys being with people.
The question is, though, which ones?
“I have always tried to understand people,” he has said, “so that I can determine what kind of relationship I should have with them.”
In essence, nary a thing wrong with the philosophy. But politicians in the Caribbean are advised against being so circumspect. The marish and the parish love being in reach of all their Prime Ministers,
and Mr Stuart will find that there are some people he won’t “understand”, and won’t have the time to determine the “kind of relationship” that he should have.
Mr Stuart says he is not stiff and distant. We have been convinced he doesn’t want to be, but impressions and nuances, however unintentional, can be daggers in his side. Our Prime Minister declares that those who can vouch for the real Freundel Stuart are those who “have ease of access” to him.
Who have this access?
We give Mr Stuart the benefit of the doubt; he didn’t mean it as it sounds.
Through his revelations to our Gercine Carter, we see a man making every attempt, so far as his social responsibilities go, to connect with the people who now look to him for national leadership and for reposing in him political confidence.
Wordsmith that he is, let us hope Mr Stuart might through it influence his colleagues in Parliament to take more care in how they speak to this nation of ours.
Let us hope that through it he might push all public speakers to be more provident in their usage of words and employment of grammar and descriptiveness.
If Mr Stuart by his example could do this, he would have more than made up for his alleged distance from the people – a distance that won’t be so far away in short time, if we go by our Prime Minister’s say.
