Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly Orville London says Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s response to the latest Market Facts and Opinion polls is evidence that her government will be defeated in the next elections. Speaking to the Guardian at the PNM’s sports and family day at Skinner Park, San Fernando on Sunday, London said Persad-Bissessar’s attack on the polls showed the People’s Partnership was not being introspective over its failures. “What is interesting is that instead of the Prime Minister becoming introspective and trying to find ways and means to increase her popularity, she is actually lashing out at the polls and that I find is quite intriguing, because one of the things all of us as leaders have to do is listen,” London said.
He added, “The Prime Minister was very arrogant. If that is her attitude, I don’t see their fortunes changing.” The MFO results were not surprising, he said. London said the PNM’s popularity was on the rise because the party had engaged in reorganising its strategies and policies. “We were never a perfect party, nor have we ever delivered perfect governance, but no other party has done that. However, regardless of what you might say, the PNM still represents hope for a return to the kind of governance people want,” London said.
He explained, “The PNM recognised that it has been rejected and it evaluated the reasons why it has been rejected. It attempted to transform itself in a manner that would make the party more accountable and acceptable.” He said citizens had become more assertive about governance and were demanding proper governance from their leaders. London also said it did not matter if Attorney General Anand Ramlogan stepped down from office while the Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams investigated the e-mail scandal raised in Parliament last week. “Whether the AG stays or not is not an issue. People just want to know that the process is not flawed,” London said.