“The BLP has a challenge and we have a situation where there’s not a contest for leadership within the party, but there is a problem in the wider Barbados society, where there is unacceptance and unacceptability of the present leader of the party.
“I would like to see Ms Mottley succeed in politics . . . I made Ms Mottley my Deputy Prime Minister . . . I also stepped down voluntarily as leader of the party.
“. . . The challenge facing Ms Mottley and the party is not within the parliamentary group. The challenge is to have a leader who enjoys wide acceptance and acceptability in the wider society, and wide acceptance in the parliamentary party.” – Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur speaking about Mia Mottley on Tuesday, October 27, 2009.
WHAT’S SO WRONG with Mia Mottley as Leader of the Opposition and head of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP)?
This is the question Barbadians were asking this week as the saga to remove Mottley literally played out on the streets of Bridgetown.
Is the battle between her and the majority of her parliamentary colleagues due to a perception that she does not have what it takes to carry that party to victory whenever the next general elections are called?
Is it due to some underlying reason of which the public is unaware, but which her party colleagues know and are frustrated about?
Or is it a case of anxious ageing men sensing a chance to topple a vulnerable Democratic Labour Party without a full-strength David Thompson at the helm?
Whatever the answer to these questions, for sure the impasse was riveting because of the caustic comments from known BLP stalwarts denouncing the five MPs – Owen Arthur, George Payne, Dale Marshall, Ronald Toppin and Gline Clarke – who have summoned Mottley to a meeting on Monday to discuss her leadership.
The verbal venom spewed suggests long-standing divisions exist and that these would not be easily patched up even after decision day on Monday.
While we cannot say why the MPs have a difficulty with Mottley, it seems that the letter by Henderson Bovell, the research assistant in her office, could have crystallised the discontent that may have been simmering among them.
That email, sent to the party membership on Sunday, stated in part that: “Mia Mottley is on a mission to stamp out corruption at all level(s). If she now fails to get everyone on board, then it would simply suggest that those who might oppose her may not be fit to hold public or any office at all.”
Though Bovell emphasised that Mottley had no knowledge of that note, a point she later confirmed, the damage was already done.
What is clear is that the BLP’s image has been tarnished. The political blood spilt publicly has to be quickly mopped up. How well they do this will largely determine if the public will view them as a united force capable of governing the country whenever general elections are called.
Another critical factor is the need for both groups to compromise for the benefit of the party. With 14 years of ministerial experience and a wealth of skill and knowledge, Mottley is a valuable political asset to the BLP.
Mottley, too, needs to take stock of her position in the party. Given her age, she is uniquely placed to return to leadership if she loses her position on Monday.
In other words, the BLP needs her as much as she needs the party. Each side can lose out if they do not patch up their differences.
