A Guy’s View: The people have spoken

“The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God; and, however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not rue to fact. The people are turbulent and changing, they seldom judge or determine right.” Alexander Hamilton.

All my life I have been trained to follow the writings of great men. In learning institutions, when I refused to do so, I was marked down. I no longer write for marks and have now transcended the limitations placed on me by others. That freedom allows me to see the snobbery in the words of Alexander Hamilton quoted here.

Thursday, May 24, 2018 was an historic day in the history of Barbados. Many have pointed to the fact that we elected our first female Prime Minister on that date and this is an event to be noted.

Unlike many persons who have commented, I do not see this as a world-changing event. Barbadians are wont to run with the issues focused on by outsiders and internalise their issues. Female firsts have consumed societies like America, although they have not noticed that in many other countries women have long been in leadership positions.

In Barbados, there has hardly been a position of leadership that women have not controlled, so the election of a woman as Prime Minister was never a difficult matter for us. Whether formally or informally, women have long been in charge of their destinies and positions of power in this country. Hartley Henry understood this, and thus found it to be of no moment to push the first woman issue during the campaign.

Where I specially commend Ms. Mottley is that while many women, in Barbados and elsewhere, have been appealing for power because they are women rather than seeking it on the basis of merit, Ms. Mottley stepped forward and fought for what she wanted without begging any favours. She deserves to be Prime Minister, period.

Politics is the nastiest of all sports and she chose this as her field of endeavour. Whether we share her politics or not no one can properly deny her the right to all that she has achieved in this unique arena. One day, hopefully sooner rather than later, Barbadians will be mature enough to give credit where it is due. She deserves to be congratulated on her victory at the polls.

Former Prime Minister Freundel Stuart will be as roundly condemned for the spectacular demise of the Democratic Labour Party as Ms. Mottley will be praised for her victory. In search of reasons for the DLP’s heavy defeat, one may point to several decisions and practices which led to the washing out of Stuart’s party. Examination of these issues deserve dispassionate consideration. It is too close to the recent events for that examination to take place now.

What has been said most often by DLP supporters immediately after the elections is that the leadership of the DLP forgot who elected them. They turned their backs on their supporters and embraced their sworn enemies. The strength of the vitriol of heated DLP supporters has been surprising. Many are saying that they are glad at the defeat for this very reason. We shall see what they think when their heads cool.

Barbados has not known a Parliament without an opposition before, but it is not unheard of. The neighbouring country of Grenada recently had that experience. We may need to take some lessons from them in terms of how some semblance of parliamentary democracy may continue in such an environment.

Although never hitting that target, there were a few times when we came close. At one time the Barbados Labour Party had only three members of Parliament and later, the DLP had only two. And for much of the time when the DLP had only two members, it was as though they had only one, for there was no harmony or common purpose between the two members. Those events were close enough for us to remember how difficult those days were for those minority members.

What is next for the DLP? The party’s administrative structure is still very much in place so there is a foundation on which it may rebuild. Mr. Stuart will not take the party forward so the first order of business must be to select a new President and leader of the party.

The usual suspects may be expected to come to the fore and offer themselves for leadership. The sooner this is done the better, for all contests leave some person, or persons, bruised, disappointed and sometimes bitter. Politicians usually have large egos and even when defeated in formal leadership battles, often refuse to accept defeat. Uneasy combatants carry their desires with them until the end of their political lives and can remain thorns in the sides of their former opponents. This selfishness is undesirable, but, unfortunately, is the darker side of human nature.

As matters stand now, no one has an advantage, if the will of the broad electorate is the deciding factor. The people have said no to all of them. What is needed now is close introspection and a practical approach to what is needed for future leadership of the party and country.

We know that a person with an engaging personality is important, but the gift of the gab cannot be the sole factor. In an era when women are being pushed to the front of all spheres of public activity, should gender be a determining factor? These are all factors that would have to be carefully considered when the party sits down to chart a course for its future.

Whatever the future DLP leadership does, they should not accept the wisdom of Alexander Hamilton as represented at the head of this article. It is usually arrogance and a lack of respect that influence leaders to think that the man and woman on the Clapham bus are humbugs rather than persons with a mind and with ideas of value. They have the right to change their minds as they see fit, and that does not make them turbulent nor diminish them.

On Friday May 25, when the dark clouds cleared, the sky was still blue. It had not turned red. The rain that fell was still wet. Barbados still had the economic issues that confronted it the day before. What is important, therefore, is the future of our country.

To some extent, the absence of a political Opposition makes Ms. Mottley’s job easier than if there were strident, trained voices in Parliament to challenge her decisions. She is now in a position to pass whatever policy pleases her. While that makes for easy governance, it denies her the opportunity to hear dissenting or cautioning voices. The best decisions are those that are buffeted and bruised before implementation.

There is one Barbados, regardless of who is in the position of leadership. All Barbadians should lend their full support to the new Government and resist the temptation to follow previous practices of talking down our country and trying to undermine Government’s efforts. Politics will come again, but now is the time for governance and the development of our country. We must all wish Ms. Mottley well and do our part for the benefit of Barbados.