‘No one party leader can do this alone’

EDITOR: I CHALLENGE all svg politicians to be “brutally honest” with themselves, and take personal responsibility for changing the cynical way people think of them and of their parties, because “no one party leader can do this alone”.

We don’t just need new party leaders, we need leaders who can confront svg’s challenges, know and understand today’s St Vincent, and offer a compelling vision of tomorrow’s st vincent that will inspire the next generation of young people. {{more}}

If the political leaders want to change what some people think of them and their party, then they have got to change, including changing the way they behave and the way they talk. The problem is that people do not see the values of honesty, generosity, respect for all, compassion, and fairness reflected in the parties.

Let me try and put this in perspective for those of you who are not familiar with the world of politics. The most dangerous ‘ism’ in st Vincent now is the new cynicism. The ‘ism’ that most dominates st vincent’s political landscape is not the ndp Conservatism, or the ulp Socialism, it is cynicism. As the next general elections are still far away , cynicism about politics will unite those who will vote with those who won’t, and it infests every political party in st Vincent.

Those of us who want to see a serious political change in st Vincent should raise the horizons of political discourse and the way we do business. I think some vincentian politicians come across as manipulative and self-publicising, not because they desire to be so, but because some media houses in st Vincent, for all their cynical probing, necessitate a self- publicising approach.

It’s cynical or sceptical, it is easy and necessary to be suspicious about the motives of our politicians. No one seems to question that there is one subject which should be high in all the parties’ manifestos but which seems to be given a wide body swerve – truth and honesty. Until truth and honesty are seen as the primary issues, we must always remain at least sceptical but more often that not cynical.

Ernesto Cooke