The recent charge by Rommell Marshall as to why Owen Arthur has returned to the fold is worth examining. Rommell’s charge came as he found himself wandering in St Andrew looking to ease the pain of the good folks of that parish.
As a former Member of Parliament and minister, Rommell’s comments cannot be taken lightly. He has been a soldier for that party and a senior spokesperson on matters of national interest. Rommell has once again illustrated that there is pure confusion in the camp of the Barbados Labour Party.
There is a clear relationship between Rommell’s rumblings, Arthur’s return and Mia’s public political annihilation.
The concern here was given recent public acknowledgement by the Rector of the St Peter’s Parish Church who delivered a message to the Opposition party of uniting at their 73rd anniversary service.
This call for unity comes after comments by Dale Marshall during the by- election in St John whe he alluded to a united Barbados Labour Party.
The mere fact that both the rector and Comrade Dale had to speak to the matter of unity is an indication that all is not well in Roebuck Street.
According to daily Nation newspaper reports, the congregation at this service included Owen Arthur, his Deputy Dale Marshall, Dame Bille Miller, Lady St John, wife of late former Prime Minister Sir Harold St John and party stalwarts Linsday Bolden and Ishmael Roett.
But the thunderous silence on the absence of the real leader of the party in the person of Mia Mottley is an issue that cannot be ignored. It is clear that Ms Mottley will have nothing to do with any event which is organized by the Julius Caesar operatives of the Barbados Labour Party, especially in St Peter.
Not even at a church service to acknowledge the birthday of the party can the forces at play in the Opposition set aside their differences? Where was Mia? Where were the supporters of Mia? Where was the parliamentary team? Where were the senators?
Where were the former members of Cabinet? Where were the knights of St Andrew? The Sir Richards and Sir Louis’? Where was Rawle Eastmond, Trevor Prescod and others who maybe opposed to the present arrangements?
There can be no doubt now that there is no love in that Opposition camp among the current crop of parliamentarians or their supporters. What is even more clear is that Owen’s return, according to Rommell, was predicated on a premise of an implosion taking place in the Government, which has not happened, and he now finds himself in a tangled web.
Owen, by his actions, has angered a large segment of the old guard. The very person that made the institution relevant for them has now become its political liability. He gave them three terms as leader and now he has returned to destroy the political heritage. There can be no greater tragedy for a lost soul than to be a friend and an enemy of the same person. In this respect, the death embrace of Arthur has now come back to haunt the political future of the Barbados Labour Party.
This lesson is not a lesson of politics but one of life. Arthur asked for the job back then as Leader of the Opposition.
He governed the land for close to 15 years. He was feared. Alas, where has it led to and what now comforts him is the hard question: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
