The political imbroglio involving a group of “eager” parliamentarians, among them Cabinet ministers, and Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, has raised serious questions about the survival capacity of the current Democratic Labour Party (DLP)?administration to retain state power at the next general election still some 13 months away.
The yawning gap between claimed dissatisfaction with Stuart’s leadership style that could endanger the Government’s future and the Prime Minister’s own public stance about “losing no sleep” over the expressed fears of his critics must be an unexpected and painful development for traditional DLP loyalists.
They can hardly forget how a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) no confidence motion in Parliament in 1994 against Erskine Sandiford had been facilitated by an internal rebellion of some Dem parliamentarians.
Well, though there is clearly more in the proverbial mortar than the pestle, I do not think there will be any such political replay. Even Stuart’s strongest critics have made this quite clear, and in any case, the BLP Opposition, which stands to benefit from the Dems’ current open leadership row, even as it carefully nurses its own internal leadership wounds, would be aware of the fluidity of the prevailing scenario.
The critical point at this time, now that the Prime Minister has had a few more days to reflect on the broader implications for his party and Government, as well as the nation, is not if but how soon he will arrange the meeting, formally requested by the group of 11 parliamentary colleagues reportedly deeply disturbed over his leadership style.
Currently, there seems to be a “not me” denial race among some of the original group of parliamentarians who were identified with the letter requesting a meeting with the Prime Minister.
Of course, both the Prime Minister and his critics should realize that whatever the nature of an expected compromise — currently not easy to define — damage control will be quite a formidable challenge with so many embarrassing and unpleasant claims in the public domain.
Yet, there seems to be no alternative to a practical resolution to the current situation, the earlier the better, if a snap general election is to be completely ruled out. And which governing party would risk going to the electorate as divided as the DLP now appears to be on the critical issue of leadership?
Compromise, therefore, appears inevitable and the party’s “goodwill elders” have work to do.
On a final note, let those now expediently seeking to cast blame on “media reports” of the leadership dispute avoid confusing the “messenger” with the “message” delivered.