Fatigue
Editorial
Stabroek News
May 25, 2003
The responses to the return of the PNCR to Parliament and the joint communique signed by that party and the PPP/C have been remarkably muted. It is probably safe to say that even the more conscientiously inclined members of the population have not bothered to plough through all twenty points of the last-named document. Everyone is at a stage now where they are really not too fussy about exactly what it is the two sides have agreed upon; any agreement is better than none at all. And then there is the inevitable caveat that the over-taxed citizens of this land always keep at the backs of their minds, namely, how long will this new-found amity between the two old war-horse parties really last?
Sometimes one is tempted to the view that there is only one category of human beings (other than the criminals and possibly the talk-show hosts) who can flourish in this nation of ours, and that is the politicians. Everyone else is quite simply exhausted. But the politicians go on and on uflaggingly with their excuses, their evasions, their polemic, their intrigues, their invective and their never-ending attributions of blame. Is it small wonder that after thirty-seven years of this unrelenting barrage their constituents have reached a point where they really don’t want to hear any more?
If one wished anything for our politicians at this stage, it is that through some supernatural event they could see themselves for a brief moment through the eyes of the law-abiding people of this country. Perhaps then they could get some inkling of the degree of political fatigue from which the electorate is suffering.
It is hard for most rational citizens to work up the energy to respond to what goes on around them, however much they might disapprove (or even approve) of this or that decision or action. Of course, the hardline supporters from all sides appear to have an inexhaustible reservoir of vigour for their high-decibel rhetoric, but that too just contributes to the weariness of everyone else.
Most right-thinking people are agreed that we have reached a low point in the society, and most right-thinking people are also agreed that the game of politics as played by both our major parties has been a significant factor in getting us there.
After four decades the political players, whether they know it or not, have exhausted all the traditional stratagems and excuses; what we need now is a new brand of politician who can break out of the prison of party dogma and engage in a modicum of introspection. There are some glimmerings that such persons may exist, but whether the party machines under whose discipline they are constrained will allow them space to develop is doubtful at this stage.
The failures of the Government and the failures of the main opposition party are obvious to anyone with a modicum of sense. One can only wish that each side would begin to confront its past (recent or not so recent, as the case may be) and take responsibility for its own shortcomings - the failings of an opponent can never provide an excuse or a cover for one’s own failings.
Perhaps what one fears most is the fact that the new constitutional arrangements are fairly complicated, and our political parties lack the systems, the access to expertise and sufficient personnel with a capacity for sustained hard work to properly implement them. We have to recognize that the human resource crisis in this land affects our politicians too, most obviously those on the Government side, for the simple reason that they hold office and their inadequacies are on constant display.
However they managed it, against all the odds the political establishment has finessed us another chance. But making the new Parliamentary system work, will take a great deal more talent, determination and effort on its part than it has previously shown a capacity for. If our politicians could only cultivate a little humility and acknowledge their mistakes - at least to themselves - then perhaps they might understand the enormity of the task which faces them. If they recognize that, then there will be an opening for them to cast around with truly open minds for means to make the new arrangements work.
