PM chases power crooked shadow | Columnist | trinidadexpress . com

trinidadexpress.com · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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I do not know if Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has worked out a plan on how she proposes to write her name in history. Ordinarily, the nature of politics and political rule in the top Caribbean countries, in the region’s relatively short time in global history (600 years recorded since the arrival of the Europeans), does not leave much room for ambitious political figures to write their names as is prevalent in countries whose dated history may be as many as twice that number.The PM has correctly concluded that for her task at hand, she needs a stage bigger than Trinidad and Tobago. The islands, especially those smaller than the five major countries—Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad, and Puerto Rico—are not large enough to accommodate the egos of politicians. Most of them win elections polling votes that could hardly be considered more than local councillors in their internal elections. Their hope for making it onto the world stage, diving off these two-by-two platforms, leaves them looking more like the joker than any superhero. Their stalwarts and die-hards make up their core votes, seldom changing unless one of them dies or is able to convince some feeble-minded offspring to adopt their, more often than not, racist rhetoric. Still, some do make it by being very malevolent dictators; think here Francois Duvalier, better known as “Papa Doc”, whose family’s brutal rule of half of the Haitian island left the country physically and financially devastated. He murdered large numbers of Haitians under his savage leadership which he later handed down to his son and grandson, both of whom did no better for Haiti.It is more than ironic that I once peered into Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s leadership style, noting what I viewed as increasingly authoritarian tendencies—traits that seem more visible in her recent actions. Yet history shows that even the most powerful and heavy-handed leaders cannot govern without the support of allies.So far, all her Caricom associates have distanced themselves from her and her actions, one even going so far as to describe a recent statement by our PM as a “scurrilous lie and defamatory in the extreme”.I have neither spoken with nor met our PM in all of her years in politics, but judging this book by its cover, I see her as a deadly opponent or foe. If you know your Caribbean politics, you will see her as one who dominates her opponents with an iron fist. I think she would like to be seen as a Margaret Thatcher rather than a Eugenia Charles who ruled Dominica for many years. She knows how to play the game of politics, and more than that, she has manipulated most of her “fans” into believing she is the proverbial “Good cop”, while having her minions do the dirty work.She faces a Herculean task which she inherited: an economy on the slide, rampant crime, and an ungrateful electorate. She, like her predecessor Dr Eric Williams, found the electorate was unforgiving. As easily as an election can be won with their support, similarly, it can also be lost when they no longer buy into your promises.People thought that Dr Williams was invincible once he won that first election; let me correct this. The PNM, led by Dr Williams in 1956, did not win the election outright, but supported by his backers, a generous governor and two Independents, he was able to form a government. Fast forward to 1961 when he retained government; and in 1966, he won emphatically, polling over 150,000 votes. But Williams faltered again and was almost on the ropes in the 1971 elections that followed the Black Power Revolution.In the party’s internal elections, Persad-Bissessar defeated the man who invented her and gave her the power to become who she is. Her shock win, coupled with her immediate rise to the position of Prime Minister in 2010, had her appearing almost as a godsend. That same wave swept her straight out of office five years later.Her personal relations with officials who preceded her, and even those she herself nominated, fractured and even severed over the ten years she was opposition leader. She brought in new, younger people to handle various portfolios, and when that didn’t work, she regrouped and returned in 2025. This time her win was again emphatic and she had no need for the god-like appearance.She has now donned her Field Marshal’s outfit, much like a modern-day Erwin Rommel, and she has commanded her troops into battle. Persad-Bissessar will find the power she seeks, but that will come at a price not even she can afford to pay.