Tribute, according to the Oxford Compact English Dictionary, is “a thing said or done or given as a mark of respect or affection”.
Tribute, according to Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary, is “a speech, gift or action made in order to show your admiration and respect for someone and to praise or thank them . . .”.
These are the definitions that many of the parliamentarians used to shape their delivery in the recent sitting of the House of Assembly. The session was called to pay tribute to the late Prime Minister and leader of the Democratic Labour Party, the Honourable David Thompson. It was on this occasion, in his usual style, that the Opposition Leader sought to embellish his delivery by rolling out a political speech. Boy! Oh Boy! Arthur has returned to his element.
It was Arthur who called for a return to high standards in the House of Assembly. It was he who lamented the poor quality of parliamentary debates. Arthur seems to be pushing a message of “do as I say and not as I do”. The political tantrums of the Arthur era have taken a new turn.
An all-time low was reached that caused family members and persons in the gallery to exit the House. It is clear that being a father and having a daughter cannot mean the same to the goodly newly appointed Opposition Leader. Do we have no boundaries when it comes to when and where?
The Democratic Labour Party wants to express disapproval of and shame at the shade and colour of the tribute paid by the Leader of the Opposition to the country’s late Prime Minister.
The difference between the former Opposition Leader and the current is not of gender but of posture. Mia Mottley would never have been so contemptuous as to respond in the manner as Arthur did. You have to give Mia her jacket and Arthur his boots, as he loves to play in mud.
Tuesday’s [November 9, 2010] display has helped to fashion in the eyes of the public what the Opposition had and what they now have. We on this side challenge any of the Opposition members to go public and endorse the approach of their leader.
As a matter of fact, I trust that the current Opposition make-up reads into the recent machinations what is intended. Let me help you decipher the encrypted message of the Leader of Opposition: I don’t give a damn; I will do whatever I like!
This is occurring despite his campaign slogan of “There has to be healing . . .” His first official act as Opposition Leader was to fire Elizabeth Thompson (again) while rehiring, for the third time, her previous political nemesis Kerrie Symmonds. Arthur is in a hurry – after celebrating 61 years on this earth – to prove something to his inner soul.
The public has already judged his actions and continues to see him for what he really is. Let us not forget his apparent “take” on the DLP’s last reshuffle. He made it onto the back page with a big headline, Owen’s Take, giving the public the impression that some abuse of power had transpired.
And in just under two weeks, he fires two persons from the shadow cabinet and one of them happens to be poor Elizabeth Thompson.
