Perhaps the most important issue in the next election will be the Mascoll factor. The degree to which the DLP can discredit any current positions taken by Mascoll and compare with past positions when he was a DLPite will probably determine the outcome of the next elections. This proposition is based on the simple position that the electorate maybe convinced that Mascoll is an opportunist who sought to be embraced by the politics of inclusion rather than remain with loyal to a party which as leader – for a short time – he sought to rebuild. How could a loyal party leader uproot himself from a party which logic dictates he should have an emotional attachment? His defeat could spell an acceptance by an electorate that they are prepared to give the DLP an opportunity to govern under David Thompson, Mascoll’s successor and nemesis.
Clyde Mascoll was referred to by his present colleague Minister Billie Miller as Malik wid teet when he was leader of the opposition. Today Minister Clyde Mascoll sits comfortably on the front bench of the government and the public was informed during the recent budget delivery by PM Arthur that he is one of the hardest working Ministers in Cabinet. We applaud Minister Mascoll for the zest he currently brings to the job and wish well.
BU however takes this opportunity to question Minister Mascoll about whether a politician who practices some kind of a political philosophy would as leader of the opposition one day assume a junior minister job in government the next. BU is of the view that Mascoll has sold his political soul for the proverbial “pieces of silver”. The Prime Minister, the political strategist that he is, has imbibed Mascoll in his infamous web known to all as the politics of inclusion. Mascoll the pawn that he has become is being used by Arthur to stymie the premature plan which Minister Mottley had to assume the mantle of leadership of the government. Now Mascoll has “pigeon holed” himself where he cannot return to the DLP anytime soon, to go as an independent is political suicide, so that his future in politics is well and truly bound in the success or failure of Owen Arthur. This state of affairs makes Mascoll a loyal soldier who will continue to sell his political soul.
The media et tal have tried to extract interviews from Mascoll on the myriad positions he once held while on the other side but with little success. Heading the list is the controversy of his own creation, JAWS. Considering that when he was in opposition he would readily make himself available to the public and journalists alike, the public must be very concerned that his modus operandus has had to change to protect what can only be described as an “indefensible” position. It appears that Mascoll has conveniently had to reverse many positions he once held to ensure he fits snugly into his new BLP home.
The issue of GEM aka JAWS will be a big issue next election and it will be interesting to observe how it plays out. In fact the next election in the view of this writer will be the most exiting in awhile. BU wishes though to focus on the macro issue around GEMS, that of accountability. How will an electorate treat with this issue in the context of HRL Limited, the parent of GEMS, not having provided audited financials for the last six years to be laid in parliament?
How can Minister of State Mascoll in all good conscience function in a cabinet which continues to flaunt the financial rules of the government and by extension the country over the flag ship issue created by him when he was on the other side?
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