The
UWP Convention in July will provide the party with an ideal opportunity to reform
itself and attract new blood; but will that happen? At the moment, there are no
apparent signs that it will! Sadly, there’s no apparent evidence of a new thinking,
no sign of injection of new blood, no sign of a new ”paradigmatic behaviour” in
a direction that may potentially engender a new UWP face! Rather, it seems to
be the same old wrangling and juggling for position by the same old discredited
and besieged hardcore crew with corruption-stained hands.
On
paper, Chastenet is seemingly much sounder than King - at least on the
intellectual-academic plane; but so far, the former has not matched his professed
verified academic competencies with (what we believe to be) his range of intellectual
potentialities. If anything, Chastenet exudes more "propensity" and more
“idiosyncrasy” than "competency", with his propensities and idiosyncrasies
usually taking heavy toll on his competencies and generally ending up with
serious collateral damage to his integrity.
Instances
of those can be found in many a form or fashion including (but not limited to)
the Tuxedo Villas case, his extreme extravagance with public monies placed
under his care, his espousal of the Chou financial atrocities against the laws
of St. Lucia and generally a slew of other “personality aberrations” which were
magnified under the public microscope during his tenure as Minister for Tourism
and Civil Aviation.
But
perhaps my greatest disappointment with Chastenet is his reluctance to use his
genius wisely. Having been exposed to
the universe at large, one would have believed that Chastenet would have at
least given us a snapshot of his creative genius by crafting his own vision for
St. Lucia of which he wants to be PM one day. Regrettably, he has not done so!
Instead, the “guru” asks for a return to Sir John’s philosophy, which for all intents
and purposes is irreplicable in our time and space.
By
his failure to do so, Chastenet has again left the gate wide open for questioning
not just his competencies but also his creativity and imagination, and his
suitability as a candidate for the leadership of the party.
As
a Choiseulian, I had a good laugh at his whistle-stop pursuit of votes in
Delcer earlier in the month where he made his ground-breaking pronouncement
about a return to Sir John’s dream. While Delcer is 80-90% UWP, there is an unresolved
Sir John legacy which does not resonate well with the residents. He should have researched that legacy before making the pronouncement.
As
for King: he is feckless, bland, awkward and perhaps too blissful to be party
leader. His ramblings may be grammatically – and even politically - correct; he may feign a charismatic voice and posture;
but he does not inspire or motivate. He is apparently not blessed with the
intellectual and leadership endowments that would make him suitable for the job. Just as Chastenet
is lost in his Machiavellian pursuit of political power, so is King equally
lost in his own empty bliss.
If
the claim that Kenny is outgoing is true, then the politics of St. Lucia will
be wide open with a permutation of possibilities which might favour the UWP;
but does the UWP have the fortitude to undertake the necessary revolutionary
reconfiguration of its machinery without inflicting its own self-destructive
attrition?
At
the rate things are going - and with the leadership contenders and their
protagonists going for each other's jugular - it does not look likely that a new
palatable UWP paradigm will imminently emerge. King and Chastenet may subscribe
to their own idiosyncratic, transient and territorial positions; but there are
no clear signs of that a new, holistic paradigm is in the making; and neither
King nor Chastenet seems to have discovered a compass pointing in that
direction.
If
Chastenet didn’t immerse himself in the Chou mess and corruption, if he came
out with his own transformative vision and if he subscribed to his own
competencies, then (on balance) he could have been the better of the two evils; but I suspect King at the moment has a significant numeral advantage with at least 11 of the 17 constituencies rallying behind him.
From all indications, Choiseul seems to be split; although, as we speak there's a massive ongoing pro-Chastenet ground mobilisation attempt to win all candidates to his side. In general, though, there seems to wider and stronger support for Chastenet on the ground.
The UWP intellectuals are of the opinion that overall Chastenet is a better candidate for the leadership of the UWP and that anything is better than a “King”, especially with the delinquent Mr Tucker in his corner.
From all indications, Choiseul seems to be split; although, as we speak there's a massive ongoing pro-Chastenet ground mobilisation attempt to win all candidates to his side. In general, though, there seems to wider and stronger support for Chastenet on the ground.
The UWP intellectuals are of the opinion that overall Chastenet is a better candidate for the leadership of the UWP and that anything is better than a “King”, especially with the delinquent Mr Tucker in his corner.
The seeming consensus of a cross-section of Choiseulians is the UWP is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Nonetheless, they seem to believe that Chastenet on balance is the preferred option. They seem to believe that despite all his odd proclivities and weird idiosyncrasies, he is “more his own man” than King
is and that the UWP may be a better party under him!
