Foot in ass disease

Prakash Ramdhar - COP Leader
Photo courtesy: newsday.co.tt

There is a habit among the citizenry in Trinidad and Tobago to shoot off at the mouth before thinking on an issue or waiting for details to come out. It has gotten many a public figure in trouble.

The most recent is COP political leader, Prakash Ramadhar. He is livid that former Congress of the People (COP) member and mayor of the southern Trinidad city of San Fernando, Marlene Coudray has left the party and joined the United National Congress (UNC). She campaigned in the recent UNC internal elections for the position of Deputy Political leader, and won.

Needless to say, this is a serious blow to the COP’s ego and more so to the leader’s. The move would give the impression that, as a leader, he has no control over his members and that something is amiss in the party.

Ramadhar subsequently went on a media rampage that Coudray be removed as mayor because the ‘mayorship’ belongs to the COP, of which she is no longer a member. He claims there was a “gentleman’s agreement” in the Fyzabad Accord of April 2010 which allocated certain seats and positions to each party. Ramadhar is accusing the UNC of poaching members and hijacking the San Fernando ‘mayorship’. Ok fair.

But this week Mr Ramadhar went further to breathe fire and brimstone and threaten to pull the COP out of the People’s Partnership if Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar does not appoint a COP mayor.

This was all done before someone wisely advised him and he requested a meeting with the 5 leaders of the partnership. Really Ramadhar? Is that the way a leader operates? Go to the media first, lambaste your partners then decide to meet with them?

This meeting should have been done first and depending on the outcome then you would have had the ‘moral’ right to curse then because you first tried to reason. So how do you expect to be received at this meeting? With open arms? How do expect the tone of the meeting to be? Seeing that you now want to negotiate with the very people you bitterly complained about?

And how do you feel? I would have been ashamed! There you went and put your foot in your ass. Shut up, think, analyze...then speak. Sadly, it is not one of our citizens’ strong points.

Sources and further readings

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/MAKE_OR__BREAK-144752995.html