A Final Amen for the NAR?
When I learnt that the NAR candidates for Tobago seats in the December 10 elections were Hochoy Charles (for Tobago West) and Jefferson Davidson (Tobago East), my first reaction was disbelief. Was that all they could do? Was there nobody younger and more vibrant than Davidson? Could they not find anyone else for Tobago West that Charles had to give up his seat in Tobago House of Assembly to run? Had the party reached the stage where it was so thin on resources that it had to resort to such desperate-looking measures? Surely, they must know that these men can't win the day for them?
Having had time to ponder the development and sound the political ground, I find that my reaction remains unchanged. Hochoy and Jeff have enough time to prove me wrong, but I don't think they can pull it off. Too much in the political context of Tobago is against them.
But before we treat the challenges they face, let's look at what they have going for them. They are both high-profile men: Jeff has been chairman of the Assembly, regular assemblyman, and presiding officer, while Hochoy has been regular assemblyman, deputy chairman of the assembly, junior minister in the central government, and chief secretary. They are therefore both considerably knowledgeable, especially about the workings of government and versed in the political issues that have occupied us over the years, notably the issue of Tobagonian nationalism. Hochoy in particular is a passionate advocate of that nationalism and, with the right amount of (self-)preparation and the right kind of coaching, can be a formidable manipulator of the public mood. Both men have been actively involved in Tobagonian politics longer than almost everybody else. Finally, Jeff is known to be a nice, regular, approachable fella, while Hochoy is seen as specially helpful to his (personal) supporters and friends.
But some of those very qualities which are pluses for them are also minuses. The fact that they are highly experienced in government and politics did not prevent their party, the NAR, from being driven from power in Tobago with its credibility in tatters and its viability in question. The articulation of Tobagonian nationalism fell flat before the anti-corruption turn of mind of the last electorate and the virtually sadistic offensive of Panday against Hochoy in the THA elections. Hochoy practically appropriated the NAR by persuading the majority of NAR supporters, not without valuable help from Robinson, that the Denoon and Nicholson leaderships in the NAR-run THA specially catered to friend and family, but his own THA administration turned out to be far more guilty of graft and nepotism.
There are other minuses as well. One is that the party has practically been in shambles since it lost the THA elections, with much disaffection both in the hierarchy and among the rank and file. At the level of the hierarchy, Christo Gift, Max James, and Nathaniel Moore, for example, have been openly critical of Hochoy's leadership and have called upon him to resign and seek reindorsement. Nathy Moore made that lovely manly statement that nobody would lead him around again and dictate his agenda, most obviously in reference to Hochoy, and no doubt as a consequence was bypassed as the candidate for Tobago East in the upcoming parliamentary elections, the seat he won under a year ago.
A second minus is that having sold the impression that he can work more effectively for Tobago in the assembly than in the parliament and that the real political and governing power for Tobago lies in the assembly, Hochoy now wants to go to parliament. What for? people are asking. Isn't this contradictory behaviour? What could he be looking for except to be personally involved in the power-broking for government, should he win the West and his victory count in the event of a particular configuration of the results in Trinidad? Isn't he looking for a ministerial position in some alliance (an idea of his out of the last general elections, do you remember?), and doesn't the quest suggest that he feels confident enough to persuade the electorate to assist him? And what about administrating Tobago from the chief secretary's office? Will he seek to return to the assembly some time if the power broking quest fails?
A third minus is that Jeff Davidson has come out of retirement from partisan politics when he was generally not expected to. He had opted for the position of presiding officer in the last THA instead of going back up for the district of Belle Garden/Goodwood. Further, his health seemed to be a cause for concern when he collapsed during his stint as presiding officer (at a church service, I believe). Why pull him out then? Where further can he take Tobago? Is there really no one else - somebody younger, more dynamic, more robust - in the NAR?
The fact that the NAR has had to resort to pulling Hochoy out of the assembly and Jeff out of retirement to contest the December 10 elections speaks volumes about NAR disconnection from the demands of the politics, as well as NAR inadequacy to serve Tobago.
I hear the amens for the party's demise rising in crescendo.
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