Leader of the Opposition Owen Arthur (l) Mia Mottley (r)
Owen said no to a private request for a meeting from Mia to discuss the Rawle Eastmond matter, Mia went public with the request and Owen said no publicly. Political pundits can draw some easy conclusions from what has played out so far. Mia felt obligated to intervene on behalf of sitting Member of Parliament Rawle Eastmond who is a known sympathizer. Mia wants to align herself with the concern by Eastmond that there is ‘padding’ of the membership in St. James North. Mottley has been on the frontline pushing for constitutional reform of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). Her act was also symbolic, to let Arthur and cohorts know that as a senior member of the party she will not be treated or ignored like a Johnny come lately.
The simplistic interpretation of events as they are being played out in St. James North: it is an internal party matter which should be left to the branch executive to apply the by laws of the BLP. A deeper understanding must be viewed through a political lens, that is, a public display of the widening fracture in the relationship between Mia and Arthur.
It should be obvious that Mia Mottley and Owen Arthur are not singing from the same hymn book. With a general election on the horizon this cannot be good news for BLPites and the electorate at large. The question being asked by interested observers is what caused the fracture. More importantly, what is preventing the fracture from healing?
