I made mention last week of the several new faces the Barbados Labour party is introducing as candidates, less than 18 months into the life of the new government. Little is known of the individuals, but the danger and indeed folly of that will become apparent in the months and years ahead.

Suffice to say, it is reckless of any political party, to endorse and inflict on an innocent and unsuspecting public, individuals whose ethic, character and capacity it does not know and of which the voters know even less. The fact that some of these ‘political wannabees’ have not met five per cent of the voters in their chosen constituencies, but yet have been fully endorsed as candidates, speaks volumes to the issue of agendas and motivation of the powers that be, within that organization.

Of course, the honkers on that side will fall into the trap and say ‘we know these individuals’. ‘They have paid their dues to party and country’. ‘In each of them can be found an Albert Einstein, a Mahatma Gandhi or a Mother Theresa’. Note carefully none will be likened to Sir Grantley or Tom Adams. The Arthur era put paid to that.

These new candidates will be packaged and marketed over the next few months as breaths of fresh air; new sources of ideas and inspiration; a new breed of politician, etc. etc. We will be told that these personalities constitute ‘an excellent find’. That they are people centred, people oriented and driven by the desire to serve and contribute to the development of our island. All this and more we will be told, and the innocent and unsuspecting will be called upon to imbibe it all.

Some voters, I am sure, will embrace those who come knocking, carrying, we will be told, the secret formula for turning economic water into wine. We will be told these individuals have and indeed are the solution to today’s as well as tomorrow’s problems. That if they were in Parliament and in the Cabinet of Barbados at the moment, the price of petroleum products would not be creeping back up; that jobs would not be lost and that the cost of living would be a fraction of what it is today.

So, 18 months into the life of this new government, there is the attempt to prevent the country from settling down, by putting and keeping it in election mode. Your home and mine will be invaded by persons offering political gold, frankincense and myrrh. What this will mean, in real terms, is that the current leader of the party will get her wish, by staving off a challenge from her predecessor. Clearly, if you rush ahead and name your candidates, you put the party in election mode and therefore the chances of your being removed and replaced become unlikely, if not remote. Those who are nominated before and in the absence of thorough screening will forever be grateful. This is ‘sacrilegic’ politics.

But not all voters will fall for this. Some will think things through. Some will ask, for example, whatever became of the heavy rollers of last year? The BLP fought the last election on the strength of its then team. We were told that that was a perfect blend of youth and experience. That persons like Lynette Eastmond, Noel Lynch, Anthony Wood, Reginald Farley,Trevor Prescod and Joseph Atherley had more, much more, to offer. Now today, 18 months later, some of these are among the first to be put out to pasture or to have abandoned the cause on their own.

The innocent observer would opine that some of these are among those who, having worked with and having been exposed to the new leadership, could and would not, under any circumstances, endorse what it stands for and represents. It must be assumed that those who object to the new leadership or who have not been embraced thereby know and fear the ramifications of such leadership coming to the fore in this country of ours.

But the intrigue runs deeper. Among the team of 2008, was a set of new faces. Persons who were introduced as fresh, bright, innovative and inspiring. Voters of St. George South, for example, were told that Ian ‘Cupid’ Gill was the man for the times; that he was all things desired. So too were Bostic in the City, Lovell in Christ Church East Central and young Arthur in St. Lucy, not to mention Power in St. John and the born again Mascoll in St. Michael North West.

All these were new, fresh and brimming with ideas. All these were unleashed upon an innocent and unsuspecting public. Yet today, none of these appear likely, save perhaps for Power in St. John, to be even considered, far less embraced, for a place on the team of the new leader. Voters must ask themselves the simple question ‘why?’ Why if they were so good for the country in January of 2008, they are not even being considered for an election due in just over 40 months time?

From where I stand, the answer is simple. These individuals were not and are not being selected and deselected on the basis of their record of service to communities or their demonstrated commitment to the development of Barbados. They are being selected and deselected, it would appear, on the basis of their sworn allegiance to the powers that be.

I wrote last week of the likely mass exodus of those who were stripped of the trappings of ministerial and other public office. From the horse’s mouth we were told that continuance in public life was dependent on the fate of a new business venture. Elsewhere it is clear that a return to the polls is dependent on the probability, when the time comes, of returning to ministerial office.

In other words, Barbadians are witnessing a live, up front and direct display of crass political opportunism, where service to country and help for one’s fellowman is replaced by career agendas and ambitions.

Former BLP stalwarts Henry Forde, Louis Tull, Billie Miller, L.B Brathwaite, Vic Johnson and Richard Cheltenham slugged it out in government and in opposition, remaining faithful to their pledge to constituents of being in public life for the long haul. Current Parliamentarians, John Boyce, Chris Sinckler, Dennis Lowe, Steve Blackett, George Hutson, Patrick Todd, Freundel Stuart, to name but a few, took a whipping once, twice and even three times, but never flinched in their commitment and dedication to the cause.

These are issues that thinking Barbadians must ponder upon as this new breed of latter day saviors come strutting around communities. The questions that must be asked, as they alight the steps to our houses, is ‘but where is Cupid, Lovell, Bostic, Power and young Arthur? Whatever became of Lynette Eastmond, Anthony Wood, Joseph Atherley? How do we know that you too will not run away after your likely beating, or that the next leader of the labour party will not dump you as well?

This is truly the era of crass opposition opportunism. Thinking Barbadians must stay clear of those who would destroy a near 70 year institution for personal, egotistical gain.

Hartley Henry is a Regional Political Strategist. He can be reached at hartleyhenry@gmail.com