Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 19/11/2025 05:18

A tale of two PNM leaders

THE INVITATION issued on behalf of Keith Rowley ahead of his November 17 media conference at his home in Diego Martin opened most unusually. “The Office of the Former Prime Minister cordially invites members of the public and media to a press briefing,” it said. If you’ve never heard of the “Office of the Former Prime Minister,” you are not alone. It doesn’t exist. Under the Constitution there is just a prime minister and an opposition leader. As a private citizen, Dr Rowley is free to employ staff. But the uppercase “O” was a dismaying misnomer. For, it signals the former PNM leader’s resolve to institutionalise his post-retirement penchant for weighing in, solicited or not, in public discourse. That’s bad news for Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles. And it’s bad news for a democracy that needs a strong opposing party. Freedom of expression is freedom of expression. A citizen is a citizen. Dr Rowley has a right to say what he wants, when he wants, how he wants. Many issues over the last few months relate to his record and his frequent interventions may well have been unavoidable. But why is there sometimes a sense of a lack of co-ordination between him and Ms Beckles, who is, as far as we can tell, now in charge of the PNM? Notably, Dr Rowley has called press conferences at his residence on November 17, October 10 and July 21, in addition to his frequent Facebook posts, one of which began with the unconvincing claim, “I have been trying very hard to stay out.” If he is trying, we are yet to see. Little that Dr Rowley has contributed since departing public office could not have been voiced by his successor, who appears to be increasingly left by the wayside when fast-breaking developments occur. The former PM comments prolifically; Ms Beckles likes to caucus, even as she endorses what is said by others. Too many cooks spoil the broth. Having multiple PNM figureheads, each with unique political baggage, addressing the nation simultaneously does not enrich the party’s strategy. It dilutes it. Messaging was not the former prime minister’s forte. But he seems unwilling to let it become Ms Beckles’ forte, too. His constant interventions hinder her ability to define a new approach to speaking with the public in the wake of April 28. That speaks volumes about Dr Rowley’s political judgement or lack thereof. Moreover, it mars his overall governance legacy. Former US presidents like Barack Obama nowadays stay engaged in public life. Kamla Persad-Bissessar was boisterous after she was voted out in 2015. But Mr Obama is the exception, not the norm. And Ms Persad-Bissessar was opposition leader. Dr Rowley is not. He should let Ms Beckles do her job. The post A tale of two PNM leaders appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.