Barbados Underground posted a view on May 22 in the blog Is Guy Hewitt the Way, Truth and Light for the DLP. On June 2 the goodly Reverend Guy Hewitt in a turnabout from a couple weeks earlier declared his interest to challenge Verla De Peiza for the presidency of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).
This is an interesting development for many reasons. At the top of the list – two years from a constitutionally due general election the DLP should have its slate of candidates available to the public to take advantage of the little time available to sell an alternative message. Ardent political supporters will vote for the colours. What about members of the electorate who want to be given the opportunity to process what the DLP candidates have to offer? We have allowed our political parties to take the vote from citizens for granted.
We will not agree on every issue. But let us respect those differences and respect one another. Let us recognize that we do not serve an ideology or a political party; we serve the people.
John Lynch
The DLP is led by Verla De Peiza, a lawyer who has managed to retain the leadership of the DLP for 3 years at a difficult time. According to political talking heads Peter Wickham and George Belle, Hewitt does not have a ghost of a chance of winning and by presenting himself at this eleventh hour, he is essentially making himself a nuisance to the process at a time the party should be advancing its preparation for the 2023 general election. That said, the process to elect the president of the DLP is democratic and unless the Reverend withdraws before the vote, it presents another interesting development on the political landscape of Barbados.
The blogmaster has followed Guy Hewitt’s journey from the early 2000s when he was a junior priest at Christ Church Anglican Church- never one to mince words he has always articulated his messages with panache and of late his social and political missives have infused the political mill with fodder worthy of commentary.
The Reverend throwing his hat in the ring raises a couple of imponderables. Will the DLP apparatus seriously elect a political neophyte to lead the party at this juncture of its resurrection post 2018? How would electing a priest as President of the party be perceived by the electorate? There is the perception ‘politics’ is a blood sport. Reverend Guy Hewitt is a man whose primary role as a priest some will argue diametrically conflicts with that of a politician.
The local landscape is crying out for a new kind of politics. Political apathy in the general population continues to rise especially in the youth segment. The upside for the DLP is that challenger Reverend Hewitt brings an effusive personality to the political equation in stark contrast to the incumbent. Is it the difference maker that will get him elected? At the bare minimum it may be infectious.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.