Public opinion pollsters can be quite correct in their predictions, as well as be quite wrong. This truism applies to the works of well known political scientists and professional pollsters of our Caribbean Community like the late Carl Stone and Patrick Emmanuel, as well as that of Peter Wickham of CADRES.
It is not unusual for critics of a pollster’s findings to deem him of political/ideological or cultural bias. What I find distasteful are the invectives often hurled at pollsters whose findings offer little or no comfort to the party or leader (in or out of Government) at the time of the survey. This is currently the case in Barbados with the opinion poll conducted by Wickham’s CADRES for the Nation Publishing Company.
The estimated six per cent swing predicted in favour of a return to power by Owen Arthur and his Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has turned out to be proverbial “red meat” for some parliamentarians and activists of the Dems. No surprise, mind you, since Wickham’s so-called “red meat” includes his survey’s assessment of “leadership” that gave a poor rating to Prime Minister Stuart.
And this brings me to the second aspect of today’s column – one of admiration – the vehemence and eloquence of Mr Stuart’s rebuke of those in and out of the media who often do much more than sneer at his leadership style and, at times, go as far as suggesting he is not fit to lead either the DLP or the Government.
One does not have to be a sympathizer of either the Dems or Bees to recognize an almost institutionalized bias in some quarters and groups against Mr Stuart as Prime Minister of Barbados. Hence, frequent calls/suggestions for him to give up the leadership – perhaps to Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler (a non-starter) – ahead of the coming general election.
It is amazing that some opinion makers, who are not without integrity, could seriously suggest that within mere months of a new general election, the Prime Minister of this nation should have handed over leadership to one of his Cabinet colleagues? Were Mr Stuart that daft, the BLP could well forego fierce campaigning and strategize on formation of a new Government.
But Mr Stuart, like him or not, strikes me as a politician and thinker at ease with himself.
As reported in the last SUNDAY SUN: “If the personality that I have and the practices I have pursued have brought me from a little chattel house from Marchfield in St Philip to Ilaro Court, why should I want to change that now . . . . I am only the victim for the time being. I am not worried about that . . . .”
He was not crooning like a Frank Sinatra, but his firm stand to “do it my way” is a message for all clamouring for or pontificating on “leadership change”.
• Rickey Singh is a noted Caribbean journalist.