Dear Editor:
Congratulations must be extended to Prime Minister Denzil
Douglas on securing an unprecedented fourth term in
office. He faced the polls with a lackluster team, and
did what many of his colleagues Prime Ministers of the
region have attempted to do and been callously rejected
by a weary electorate.
Indeed the only other
Prime Minister who achieved such a feat was the Most
Honourable PJ Patterson of Jamaica. No wonder he was
the featured speaker at the Labour Party's last conference.
Maybe PJ shared the winning formula with Denzil.
Notwithstanding this
fantastic achievement, one is left to wonder about
the state of democracy in the Federation and whether
the Labour Party has a succession plan in place for
when Denzil Douglas inevitably loses his shine and
relevance to the times. It is clear that the Labour
Party ran on a Denzil Douglas ticket and that his
coat tails were as long as a bride's train, since
none of the candidates seemed to have even a smidgen
of individual appeal.
A number of polls
and focus groups conducted by Peter Wickham and CADRES
suggested that there was a strong desire for change
in the Federation, and that the Labour Party should
try to renew itself to maintain its appeal. One way
to do this is by sending a clear signal that there
is life after Denzil. It is therefore possible that
the delay in announcing the Cabinet was because Denzil
was in fact making a determined and mature effort
to give effect to the changing of the guard.
Perhaps we will see
a responsible Denzil Douglas signaling to the country
as PJ Patterson did in Jamaica that he will not serve
out the term but will hand over in sufficient time
as to give the new leader time to govern and set the
party up for the next election. For the sake of the
Federation one remains optimistic that Denzil Douglas
does not become too intoxicated by the thrill of a
fourth term.
Respectfully,
Paula Richardson
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