VERY RARELY in these modern times of “hard politics” are politicians of the two major parties seen sharing and working together on a public platform.
In the days of yore, we knew that apart from the semi-private mixing in the lunch room of Parliament, MPs from both the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) would meet at a well known restaurant in Pelican Village.
It prompted suggestions from observant members of the public to the newspapers that maybe they should publish on their front pages a photograph of Bees and Dees sharing sometimes loud and boisterous postprandial discussion at the restaurant to give the lie to their acrimonious debates in the House of Assembly which often featured savage attacks not only on each other’s party, policies, and programmes but, regrettably, also their personal lives.
That the public’s requests were never taken up by any of the newspapers may be testimony to the increasing maturity of the Press.
That maturation continues today within and among the Press and its operators. So much so that when Editor Emeritus Harold Hoyte, of the NATION newspapers, launched his second political book – Political Warriors Of Barbados – on Thursday, November 26 at the Errol Barrow Centre For Creative Imagination, at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, he took many of the invitees by surprise not only with a novel and unique evening’s entertainment but also a very strong bipartisan approach that was the backbone of nearly every offering.
An early indication of the highly political nature of the evening unfolding was a nod to the celebrated vote-buying technique, sorry, voter incentive, of the past when arriving guests were greeted with a sample of corned beef and biscuits (unfortunately for some, no rum!). A masterstroke!
Indeed, the very choice of the Master of Ceremonies, former DLP Cabinet minister in the early 1990s, Joseph (Johnny) Tudor, who in later years was closely associated with the BLP – Hoyte pointed out that he had effectively straddled both parties – was an early signal of the underlying intent of the programme choices.
Hoyte also persuaded Dr Clyde Mascoll, a former leader of the DLP in opposition who became a BLP Cabinet minister, to sing the National Anthem. Mascoll was in fine voice and those who had never heard him sing before were pleasantly surprised.
Hoyte’s politicking continued with the DLP’s Minister of Education Ronald Jones delivering the invocation or opening prayer.
The bipartisanship was firmly established with the performance of two songs each by calypsonians Colin Spencer, a former DLP candidate for St George North, and Elenza (Serenader) Brewster, who has been closely aligned over the years with the BLP.
And at the highest level, the bipartisanship was exemplified with readings by Minister of Labour Senator Dr Esther Byer, and former BLP attorney general Dale Marshall MP, while BLP St Thomas MP, Cynthia Forde, gave the vote of thanks.
It takes a courageous man with immeasurable chutzpah to attempt to host so many sworn political adversaries under one roof, albeit in a noble cause.
If anybody could have done it, then that person would have been Harold Hoyte, the doyen of the Press in Barbados, who after 40 years of engagement with them enjoys the respect and admiration of most politicians across the divide.