Is Friday Ralph’s ‘best friend’?

On the basis of track record, it would be difficult to dispute the claims by the governing Unity Labour Party (ULP) and its supporters that the ULP government, which has led the country for all but one year of this century, can stake a valid claim to be the best administration we have had since Independence.

It has certainly delivered on the ‘big ticket’ issues and has an impressive record in such areas as Health, Education and Social Protection.

In spite of this however, there has been a distinct reversal in its avowed commitment to people’s democracy and this has degenerated to the extent that there are charges of political partisanship surrounding its appointments and style of leadership.

In recent years, it seems that the old bugbear which has plagued governments in office for a long time is affecting the Gonsalves administration; that tiredness is setting in and affecting its forward progress.

In his many public pronouncements, even in situations requiring national approaches, there seems to be an obsession with the Opposition and the oft-repeated talk of what will happen at the polls in 2025. This is in spite of evidence of an ageing leader and the failure to resolve the issue of succession promised at the last elections. Loose public attacks on the Opposition have become a staple in the Prime Minister’s utterances.

We should by now have graduated beyond that, and a party with a solid record of almost a quarter of a century should be confidently leading the way without having to throw jibes at what is a largely ineffective Opposition. Yet the Prime Minister goes out of his way to chide his opponents that 25 years in opposition is like “a jail sentence which can addle the brain”. Is he speaking from experience, since he himself endured a similar “jail sentence” for 22 years before taking office?

The reality is that the longer the ULP remains in power, the less relevant is its attacks on the NDP for its record in office from 1984 to 2001. Young voters who will be registered for the first time for the 2025 elections would not have even been born when the NDP was in office. In addition, with each improvement, expectations have been raised. Young people not only expect to be schooled, but they also expect to attain university degrees. The bar is as high as that. They also expect to be gainfully employed at the end of this.

In addressing this fact, Leader of the Opposition and prime ministerial aspirant Godwin Friday has again disappointed. It is one thing to be concerned about the availability of jobs but how could a person who aspires to the leadership of our country, question the relevance of what the government calls the “Education Revolution”? Is he saying that unless a job awaits you, it is a waste of time to get an education?

Another issue on which Dr Friday’s approach is decidedly short sighted is the Citizenship by Investment Programme. In the face of direct actions by the British government to act against countries persisting in the scheme (through purchase of passports), he persists in defending it.

In the long run, Friday may well turn out to be Ralph’s “best friend”, politically speaking, for as long as he fails to step up to the task.