(HON) FERGUSON JOHN SPEAKS: "AS I SEE IT . . ."

FERGUSON JOHN

"It has to be understood that constituents don’t vote for Ministers.  While constituents would like to see their representative performing admirably as Minister, their primary concern is his relationship with them and his demonstration of care and concern.  And being a Minister carries no advantage. Can any one guess when last a Minister won in Choiseul/Saltibus? It was 1969.  In the eyes of the constituents, it is the District Rep not the minister that matters." 

                                                          - FERGUSON JOHN LLB (HONS)

                                               

Perhaps all St. Lucia knows that when it comes to speaking his mind, (Hon) Ferguson John (former two-term parliamentary rep for Choiseul/Saltibus, former Minister for Physical Development, Environment and Housing; and former vice chairman of the Saint Lucia Labour Party) does so fearlessly. In this feature article, he openly and frankly shares a few words of wisdom with us regarding the relationship between Parliamentary Rep and constituents! READ ON!

 

"AS I SEE IT": BY FERGUSON JOHN, LLB (HONS)

Politics is serious business and cannot be a hobby.  It reminds me of the old saying “Many are called but few are chosen”.   No one should ever underestimate its value to civilized society but the reality is many do. Indeed, many have paid dearly for doing so but like children clamouring for their own experiences, they continue to.  Many will continue to pay for doing so.

Politics is about people; more so, parliamentary politics. The first political lesson for any aspiring politician should be one that leads to understanding our people.  This assumes even greater importance in a system that is constituency based.

Some of us treat political parties like our tribe:  “Mwen ki tjè labar La mama mwen mété mwen la mwen ca wété”. Political parties understand that - so they expect their base to remain solid whatever the weather. But there’s also the principle of reciprocity. Do you expect the base to stand solidly behind you and you show me no love in return? That where the question of maintaining the base comes in!

So how do we maintain the base?  In my view, the starting point is to understand the base.  We should therefore ask ourselves: Do we know how they think?  Do we know what they expect? If these questions can be answered positively then there’s the likelihood that we remain in power forever.  But these simple questions are so inherently difficult that we may be still searching for answers long after we’ve retired.

In any event we must maintain the base. So we must learn the simple things and we must do them.  Simple things like loving our people, demonstrating that love at every opportunity, and building a relationship based on love.  The saying “love conquers all” is pregnant with meaning in any sphere of life and even moreso in politics.

When cracks appear in a relationship, one has serious decisions to make.  Do I work on keeping it?  Can I afford to keep it?  Should I cut my losses and run? The person who is determined to keep the relationship should begin to reflect on the wrongs that have been done, and the right things that have not been done. He should rewind, listen to the complaints that he dismissed a thousand times before, and address them in a manner that he expects his partner to approve.   This is no small challenge.  It requires an abundance of courage and humility.

In our constituency, whether we like it or not, cracks have been visibly appearing in the relationship between constituents and representative.  He admitted as much in his latest speech to the SLP South Zonal Conference. His constant references to the representative being in the work on the ground, as opposed to being visibly present, were in themselves revealing. It was like telling your partner I put food on the table so shut up.   I don’t know of any relationship that has been mended with that attitude.

The Saint Lucia Labour Party should never forget the year 2006.  It was generally felt that Labour had delivered. Things were looking good.  Optimism flowed; yet we lost by a margin of 11-6.  Post mortems suggested various scenarios; but there was one common factor:  That A word.  Yes, arrogance. We had become an arrogant lot. Some of us found it hard to accept but some recognized it.  All the good work was undone by the arrogance and we were dealt a fatal blow. 

There’s nothing wrong with chest-beating and bellicosity.  When directed at the opposition, it sounds good, creates effective punchlines, and invites resounding cheers; but when directed at the very constituents we represent, our own base - I’m afraid, we are playing with fire. We run the risk of marginalizing rather than building our base.

Experience and wisdom have made it clear that constituents ought not to be taken for granted. Of course people will forgive. Of course a lot of the “not voting for mate” will subside come election time. But a lot of repair work will be required and a lot of time will have to be spent on doing what should not have been necessary.  The obvious result is that there will be little time to do what is absolutely necessary.

Politicians must understand that in a world as volatile as ours, to deliberately ignore constituents for the greater part of the term in the hope of providing sweeteners near election time is an old trick that constituents have learnt how to handle. Much deceit and bad judgement is a natural consequence.   It weakens rather than strengthens the base.  It confuses new voters.

It may be quite difficult but, the politician must be skilled at massaging.   Again it’s not a matter of scratching the surface. Some constituents will need thorough and professional massaging.   Many are passionately in love with their party and events have led to much disappointment and frustration. A lot of time must be invested in the constituency.

It has to be understood that constituents don’t vote for Ministers.  While constituents would like to see their representative performing admirably as Minister, their primary concern is his relationship with them and his demonstration of care and concern.  And being a Minister carries no advantage. Can any one guess when last a Minister won in Choiseul/Saltibus? It was 1969.  In the eyes of the constituents, it is the District Rep not the minister that matters.

Our constituency needs massaging, not bulldozing. Lovers of Labour now have the unenviable task of ensuring that the love affair between party and constituency begins to blossom again. We must not forget that all the fanfare of 2011 gave us only a ninety five vote majority.  If the opposition is allowed to fire, then ours can only be an uphill task.