How Mitchell plans to stay “leader” by neutering Pierre and demonizing David

 

FIVE STAR GENERAL KEITH MITCHELL is urgently fine-tuning his plan, that he thinks will take him back to state power in Grenada.

Piecing together conversations he has had with some key lieutenants, and the tone of remarks at a public constituency event Tuesday night, it is becoming apparent that he will get his rigged convention to install himself as Chairman of the Party – elevating that office as the most powerful within the party.  (Come forth Chairman Mao?) He will have Emmalin Piere installed as “Political Leader” – though she will have no real power – an effective place holder, that gives him the cover.

   The idea was floated to some insiders before last Sunday’s rally, but the political leader stayed clear of making any reference to it at the meeting.

    Before the “rally” he had promised a major announcement, but none came.

   Mitchell will continue financing the party – declaring to his close allies, that this is something that Pierre can never do.

   Implicit references to other allies since Sunday, and then further comments he made before the gathering of his Happy Hill faithfuls, gave a clear indication to his game plan. But it is causing increasing alarm even among some of his inner circles.

   He will have installed (for now) Nimrod Ollivierre as General Secretary – one of his now main sycophants, the cheerleader of boorishness and the organizer of the failed rally.  This is qualified as “for now” because there is some severe push back against “this crazy idea” from among his closest facilitators.

   He has no plans of not running again as a candidate in the next general elections – suggesting that this issue of his candidacy will be decided when the next elections are called.

   Two things must be understood: Mitchell has said previously in a television interview that there is no scenario where he is a candidate and not leading the party; and as reckless as he is, even if he plans to leave, he won’t wait until an election is called to hand over. (Read that to mean he is not handing over).

   He has been politically flirting with Jonathan LaCrete as if to suggest that it is his St George’s North West plan B.

   But like everyone else, LaCrete is one of his other means to his end. Doc thinks La Crete’s “strength” is a supposed “embarrassment factor” to the ruling National Democratic Congress, and particularly its leader, the Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.

  Mitchell ostensibly “gives up” the party leadership but is expected to stay on as Opposition Leader and candidate.

   Regarding Pierre, he has been saying she should be given a year, but “if the leader is not up to speed, we can change the leader” after that – versions of this he has repeated to various circles in the last eight days.

   His boast – she can’t finance the party nor mobilize the country. And anyhow she is not even in a sure seat. While NNP lost votes in each of the 15 constitutes with an average 9% swing; it was largest in St Andrew’s South East and way above the national average.

   Which bring us to Doc’s “fear” of Peter David.

   The former Finance Minister knows Peter David is the only one among them that can finance the party – without depending on him; and the only one among them who could mobilize the nation. And as Political Leader – David’s Town of St George seat becomes a very “sure seat” – which will effectively close shut any of Mitchell’s back-door ideas.

   David is a clear and present danger to Mitchell’s straddling ego to hopefully return as Prime Minister – and so he can’t have it.

   The “general” has resorted to his old play book of spreading lies about David in an increasingly failing attempt to demonize him. (Lies of “he stick up his father” variety – that Doc once jokingly confessed many years ago, he knew the story was never true, but “boy that is politics.”)

   The so-called Screening Committee – set up for no other purpose but to effectively block David’s candidacy – as of now has no set schedule to meet. It is not known who has submitted their names to be considered – but ostensibly it is Pierre.

   In spite of all of this, Mitchell is reportedly still not taking chances – and watchers think he has ordered a purge of the delegates that have been submitted from some constituencies for the December 15 convention.

   The epicenter of the delegates fraud package is St Patrick's’ East and St Patrick’s West.

   A former candidate is the lead hatchet man in the west – who it is declared will decide on the delegates – totally ignoring the names elected by the polling divisions as per the party’s constitution. A newcomer is doing the same in the east.

   Right now, they are refusing to meet with the constituency groups which are demanding answers to the developments.

   “People can’t want to come in the man's party and take it over. Our role is to stop that,” the voice on a recording – and key Mitchell acolyte from St Patrick’s West, said.

   But constituency groups are set to launch formal protest letters about the constitutional breach and the brazen day-light political piracy.

  Take it from me – their concerns won’t be had. The fraud is blatant and without shame. The fix has no redeeming morality.

   At the meeting in Happy Hill this week – Doc’s own people expressed concern about his relationship with Peter David. He told them “Don’t believe the rumors.”

   Pressed for clearer answers he quipped: “You all want to pick my mouth?”

  This whole process is as fake as the eight anonymous Facebook pages, with AI generated photos of supposed African models, they have set up to take political debate and advocacy to a shocking historic low level, and it say more about their character (or lack of it) and unhinged desperation.

   It is further boosted by their lowly paid, equally low IQ loud mouths and noise makers on Facebook. A band of people with no character, who are quick to question others, as if that will provide cover for their broken stench.

  Like hurricanes fueled by warm oceans, adding to the mix, is Doc’s newly minted “super adviser” who gets a daily orgasm by spewing the Trumpian gospel of vengeance and revenge.

  What a way to build a party and a country!

   Doc’s BBF, Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica told him and his party to their faces at the Pier 57 event on the weekend: “You get elected (back to state power) if you are considered legitimate. (If) the people feel that your organization has integrity.”

  Holness also said in another part: “Political parties must be treated as formal transparent institutions. The people who run these organizations must ensure that their actions are transparent, they are ruled based and that they serve the people.”

   The next time, like the last time, NNP’s defeat will be because its “owner” has become more delusional, more disingenuous and more selfish. His walking contradictions and emboldened contempt, a powerful advertisement for term limits.

   I said it before – Doc in his old age has become a political arsonist who is willing to burn his own political house down.

  Some words on two  of two of the (not so) central players:

   Emmalin Pierre – I have not said anything about her campaign and don’t plan to do that now. With us it’s almost like blood – thicker than water. One from Birchgrove, the other from Munich – we’ve gone back too far, equally come too far, dreamt too big and laughed too loud for me to punctuate it with any negativity.

    I genuinely wish her the best now and forever. Even in political death we shall never part.

   Though she has jokingly minted me “frenemy”, I am genuinely and sincerely worried about her being given a poisoned chalice. I know she will beg to differ. But in my view this process will delegitimize her, and Mitchell will  continue to neuter her.

    If she pauses from the giddying heights of the “Emma” campaign, she will know and remember, what I know and remember – that this won’t be the first time Doc has cut her feet from under her. I pray to God, it will be the last.

    In this simmering mess, my ode to her is a part of the lyrics of the Hot Chocolate song ‘Emmalin’ that we both used to enjoy:

 

     I just can't keep on living on dreams no more.

    I tried so very hard not to leave you alone.

    But I just can't keep on trying no more.

 

Peter David – I joke with him that in an earlier life he must have been a crusading Christian. He has too much faith. It is both a strength and a weakness.

He could have been the savior of NNP – but the question he must ask himself today – is this worth saving?

Maybe the patient just needs palliative care.

Sometimes a house becomes too difficult, too expensive to renovate.

Sometimes – just sometimes – we have to break it down, just to build it up again.

Seeking redemption amidst the complications

UNLIKE POPULAR BELIEF, I have deliberately stayed away from direct active comment on the “leadership race” within the New National Party, except for two blogs in two years – one on the undemocratic trajectory of the party and another a tongue-in-cheek piece about the behavior of its leader.

   The reason for that has been multi-fold, but when you know where “the bodies are buried” you take more care and responsibility.

   It is like, in the early days of the social media revolution, there was an option to click off your relationship status, and one those was – “it’s complicated”.

   And so, I now watch a lot of these things with a level of pain – severe pain; and for the most part I keep my mouth shut.

   For better or for worse, the Political Leader, we fondly refer to as “Doc”, was at different times my boss. But more importantly, we’ve had a lot of good social times together.  Many times, when either of us got into familial troubles, we “batted” for each other even when we know we were wrong.

   I even played for his ‘Ex Nationals’ cricket team, never mind it was the older Mark brother that played nationals.

   After the last elections he lost, I was convinced that ‘Doc; had PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from the development – when I saw his manner, his rantings, his state of denial. I was genuinely concerned – not for a politician – but for a human being.

    So concerned, I asked two of the returning MPs to make sure they go see him every day to help keep his spirits up.

    As I watch his recent behavior – I have differing ranges of emotions – that can go from amazement to bemusement, to personal concern; but strangely never anger.

 The overriding emotion is pity.

   These latest episodes in the current collective political days of our lives always take me to how I saw him three days after the election. Politics is cruel thing, even for a “five-star general.”

   His disingenuity; his instigations could drive the best of us to the edge of madness. But then we can’t fall off.

   His on-and-off relation with the truth is in some ways fascinating, and in other ways daringly pathetic, deserving of doctoral studies.

   We are all watching in real time a 40-year-old career of highs and lows, crashing down through a blog of lies.

   This is a long way from our talk of 2013, when at the cusp of his return victory, I spoke to him about reclaiming his legacy, especially by governing differently. Something which he then agreed to then. He stayed the course for a couple of years, and then went back to old habits.

   I warned then, to those who would have listened soon after 2018, that we were starting to see the beginning of the end.

   Two days before the last general election, I said to him he had 48 hours to find a political miracle because he could lose. He responded that I did not know what I was talking about. It was the first time in our very, very many years that he out-rightly declared, I knew nothing about this stuff. Alas, political dementia had already stepped in.

   What is happening now is like watching your grandfather deteriorate. You take no pleasure in it. You just try to hold on to the memories of the “good old days.”

   The frustration only deepens when you can’t get any “family” member to talk about the situation; their warped reality having nose dived into a dangerous level of sycophancy, and their responses are only barrages of boorishness that do a disservice to everyone., including the man they think they are defending.

   ‘Doc’ has not only hurt his legacy; he has severely wounded his party. Politics is filled with many cases of amazing resurrections, but the story of Lazarus happens once every two thousand years.

   I am not sure what he expects from his December 1 vanity party – but redemption can only come to those who come to terms with their own demons.

Coming to terms with a man of no grace!

 

Coming to terms with a man of no grace!

 

IT MIGHT have been sometime in 2009, there were consistent reports that the relatively new National Democratic Congress government might be moving on a threat to arrest Keith Mitchell for alleged corruption.

The reports of the pending arrest were so strong, I began to worry they might be credible. And then I began to worry about another thing, that we are using our legal system to hound our opponents.

I was getting the feeling that the prosecutors here did not have any airtight case to move forward.

I started calling around – ranting and raving; almost threatening – “you all cannot go down that route.”

Not only did I not believe that such a move will irreparably divide a society; but also, that everyone – even someone we just beat up in an election campaign, and who lost – deserved some grace.

 I shall keep coming backing to the issue of grace – and how the dispensation of it does not have to survive a political litmus test. Especially in a small society such as ours.

 But this is also snippets of a man who has partially successfully masked his cold irreverence and calculated heartlessness, as somewhat a champion of the “poor and vulnerable.”

Exploring the issue of grace – or lack of it -- let’s go back to Garvey Louison, who was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance in the early 2000s I think.

Garvey is the brother of Einstein Louison, who himself at the time was the Minister of National Security in the Prime Minister’s office.

Einstein went home one day to find his little brother in tears. And he heard right there for the first time, about the firing of Garvey.

Today I am not even sure what the real story was behind his termination – but I remember what shocked me at the time – was how Einstein – your go-to person– was not shown – forget courtesy – but at least grace.

But it gets worse. Years later Einstein Louison fell sick – and, even to this day, the Prime Minister has never gone to see him because they had fallen out.

 He never thought ‘Stein deserved any grace.

 Fast forward to the beginning of Keith’s last term – when a youth supporter, questioned (truthfully rightly so), his administration’s lack of a real empowerment strategy for youth.

He felt she was out of place, and some of his enforcers, taking a cue from him began hounding the young lady.

 And so naturally she began to become bolder in social media statements about politics and policy.

 And so – from the highest office in the land – they moved against this struggling young mother of three – to lose her job -- because she was “too fresh” to offer an opinion – albeit a bold one – in a democratic society.

 I remember one minister, literally in tears begging her boss and everyone else who will listen to leave the lady alone. To show her some grace.

 Why? She has children in school and her loss of income will badly affect them.

 She, however soon did not have a job.

 The highest people in this land refused to show her children some grace.

  The story of Ruel Edwards was one that haunts me.

 Edwards was a man, who helped draft aspects of the 2018 manifesto, and was even seen as a potential candidate one day.

 There was/is rightfully a debate about his tenure at MNIB. He was then transferred to the Ministry of Finance, where, from all reports, he was doing very good technical work.

 There were people there who for some reason might have felt threatened by him. The Prime Minister was “worked on.”

 He then called a press conference – without any alert to the man in question or his family who were close to him – or his cabinet colleagues or his communication consultants -- and openly blasted someone, throwing innuendos and announcing an investigation into the man (something as it turned out he could not do).

 In Reul’s most difficult moments, he was shown no grace.

 While openly grumbling about his Minister of Trade at the time (Oliver Joseph), a move was made to move his son from  -- rightly or wrongly based on who tells the story. But Joseph heard it after the fact from his son; without him being given a heads-up by his boss.

As awkward as it might have been, Oliver Joseph would have deserved to be shown some grace.

 I was in the Prime Minister’s office when my sister suddenly died. She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance; spent three days in a bed and never saw a doctor.

 I called around trying to find answers. Never got any credible response – not from the CMO; not from the Minister of Health; not from my “boss”.

 No show at the funeral; not to this day an “accept my sympathy.”

 I just could have done with a little bit of grace.

 Just a few months ago – Nielon Franklyn was still an NNP senator. His father died. Franklyn’s political leader refused to attend the funeral on the basis that his old man was never a supporter of him.

 Even in time of grief, the Right Honorable did not bring himself to show grace.

 Grace was not dispensed to Pamela Moses, who was in his cabinet as recently as two and a half years ago.

And what is showing grace? It is not condoning anything. Not supporting anything. It is showing goodwill.

 Reynold Benjamin was shown no grace. Warren Neufield was shown no grace. Grace Duncan was shown no grace. Kindra Mathurine-Stewart was shown no grace. Bert Brathwaite was shown no grace. Cletus St Paul was shown no grace. Senator Katisha Douglas was shown no grace. (The hits keep on coming, right?)

Why do you all think that Peter David will be shown any grace?