Panday Outsmarts Dookeran

“The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.” [Niccolo Machiavelli Italian statesman and modern political thinker 1469 – 1527].

Basdeo Panday by his actions of the last week has proven himself to be the greatest politician to have passed through Trinidad and Tobago. Despite the fact that the late Dr. Eric Williams was able to stay in power for 25 years as Prime Minister, Basdeo Panday has been able to stay as Leader of the Opposition albeit broken since 1976 without the use of state resources.

Mr. Panday, by assuming the Chairmanship of the Opposition United National Congress, and by putting up a slate for the October 2 party election has secured his leadership of the party in spirit, if not in name. To make a long story short, the Dookeran faction has been completed outsmarted and railroaded by a man who could only be described as a genius. Mr. Panday is determined not to make the same mistakes as he did in 2001 when he lost control of his national executive whilst he was in government.

By accepting leadership with Panday as Chairman, Mr. Dookeran has in effect surrendered any real power he may have had when the new executive gets down to work next month. By remaining as Chairman, Mr. Panday, arguing the point of a peaceful transition will ask the Parliamentary arm of the party to have him remain as Leader of the Opposition. With assured support at the national executive level and at Parliamentary caucus, Mr. Panday will retain full control of the United National Congress, whilst appearing to have given way in the face of mounting criticism.

The Dookeran faction has now been emasculated and is dead in the water. By agreeing to Panday’s demands to stay on as Chairman, Dookeran has lost the leadership battle before it even began. It was a move of absolute brilliance, and I pay tribute to a man who has learnt his lessons well over the years. Do you remember when Panday was replaced as Leader of the Opposition in 1977, only to successfully regain it in 1978 from Raffique Shah. Mr. Panday has no intentions of surrendering leadership of the party, a fact demonstrated by his insistence to assume the position of Chairman and to support a slate.

Some may argue that as Political Leader of the UNC Mr. Dookeran automatically assumes the Leader of the Opposition portfolio. That is not necessarily so. In fact, precedent has been set in other commonwealth countries where political leaders did not necessarily assume leadership of the party in the public domain. Case in point is the current Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, who was appointed to that office after Congress President Sonia Gandhi declined the position. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry throughout the world knows that Mrs. Gandhi is the power behind Prime Minister Singh and no decision is made without her consent. The same situation will apply to Mr. Dookeran.

The same situation exists in St. Lucia where the Leader of the Opposition and the Political Leader of the United Workers Party is not one and the same. In Tobago, whilst Hochoy Charles remains leader of the Democratic Action Committee, Ainsworth Jack holds the position of Minority Leader in the Tobago House of Assembly. The precedent exists and Mr. Panday has so manipulated the situation that is hegemony is all but secured. Mr. Dookeran has no choice but to allow Mr. Panday free reign, since the leadership was given to him on a platter. He did not even have to fight for it!

Do you really think that Mr. Panday was about to give up and walk into the political sunset. Hell no! According to Panday himself in 1996, “I will die with my political boots on.” Mr. Panday I am sure, will easily convince the majority of UNC MPs in Parliament to support his initiative to remain as Leader of the Opposition. The strategy implemented by Mr. Panday was concocted out of pure brilliance. He has given the illusion of stepping aside, yet maintaining a firm grip on the party he has led since its inception.

I was however surprised that the Dookeran faction allowed themselves to be played to such an extent. At the end of the day, they came out with nothing, absolutely nothing. One must wonder what advice was given to Mr. Dookeran in the lead up to this accommodation of sorts. Quite frankly, Mr. Dookeran has shown little interests in the leadership of the UNC and one is inclined to think that he is preparing to accept an academic position at a foreign university rather than assume the leadership of the largest opposition party.

Political survival has been nothing new for Mr. Panday. The difference is that he has not been unable to transfer his personal success at survival to the larger body politic of the UNC, especially when they were in government. Mr. Panday practices a politics based on the teachings of Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian statesman at the turn of the 16th century. According to him, “If an injury has to be done to a man, it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.” Mr. Panday has so crippled Mr. Dookeran’s challenge that many do not believe he can survive the interim [whilst they search for a new leader].

It is clear that Mr. Panday will die first before he gives up leadership of the UNC and that is understandable. He once said “They believe that I would lie down and die on the ground with my feet up in the air. Old politicians never die, they become more sexy.” According to Machiavelli, “Men are so simple and so inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.” So the games continue and as members of the UNC gear up to vote come October 2, know this, not much will change. For those who want Panday to stay, congratulations. For those of you who wanted Panday to go- well, try again.

Machiavelli also states, “Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who tricks will always find another who will suffer to be tricked.” Mr. Panday has had a long and colourful political career. It would have been better though if he could have transcended this success to ensuring that the party gains political power. “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.” Mr. Panday, a follower of Machiavelli will do well to pay attention to the preceding statement.

By completely outmaneuvering the Dookeran faction, Basdeo Panday has demonstrated that he is one of a kind, a lion who roams the jungle, majestic and proud, ready at all times to defend his territory and attack if needs be. Machiavelli again states “Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and they attack others.” He has been able to remain the undisputed head of the central plains, but securing electoral victory in Trinidad and Tobago will require support far greater than what the central plains can provide. Mr. Panday, with limited tools at his disposal has been able to secure the defeat of all his challengers, from Raffique Shah to Hulsie Baggan and Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj.

The final question that I put to you this week is whether or not by his actions to remain firmly in control of the party has Mr. Panday doomed the UNC to another term in the political wilderness. Time will tell. The supporters, rather than Mr. Panday will pay the ultimate price of the outcome. A sad tale perhaps, but it goes to show that if one is true to the cause to which they profess, they will acknowledge that the good of the collective must come ahead of one’s personal agenda.