The PNM has been able to put itself in the minds of the electorate as the "go to" or "default" political party in Trinidad & Tobago. This fact gives it a big advantage over every other political party and gives the PNM in the minds even of truly independent voters that the old mantra of "better to live with the devil you know than the devil you don't" is probably correct. The UNC in the meantime has failed signally to capitalize on the thousand and one screw-ups that the Rowley regime has burdened the population with, so much so, that what should be a runaway victory at the polls is now a dead heat between the two dominant parties with the PNM having the advantage of incumbency.
For the UNC to have a chance at the polls in any meaningful way it needs to present itself, not only as a credible alternative to the PNM, but also as a political party that has the solutions to the million and one problems plaguing the nation. And it needs to do this now -over and over again. It doesn't matter that the PNM might listen to the proposed solutions, like them and then implement them. What would happen is that the country would see that the UNC really cares about the ordinary man and is prepared to put country first whether or not it means depriving themselves of power. Because, for example, do you really care who fixes the crime situation, or do you basically care about getting it fixed?
On this particular issue (crime) I note with considerable alarm the fact that nobody on either side of the political divide is putting forward any real and workable solutions - except to say that the Minister of National Security and the Commissioner of Police are both grossly incompetent. While this is probably true it doesn't really give any solace to a beleaguered population that is desperately looking for relief to this multi-faceted problem.
There are two new political parties on the scene - one led by Phillip Alexander who has managed to use social media to his great advantage by highlighting the problems that plague us, and the other led by Gary Griffith whose basic claim to fame is that he was a very good Commissioner of Police which is evidence of his ability to lead.
For better or worse neither of these two parties have got any traction with the electorate and the race at the moment is a straight dog fight between the two major parties - the PNM and the UNC. Of course, there is a legitimate fear on both sides that either or both of these minor parties could cause a loss or a victory in highly marginal areas but at the end of the day this particular possibility, while being a legitimate cause for concern for both sides, really is not motivating either of the two main protagonists to change their modus operandi in any meaningful way.
A demonstrably new way of thinking is now more than ever necessary. Unfortunately, the country's past experience with third parties (e.g., the NAR) has been such that the electorate is understandably reluctant to take a chance with an unproven entity. So we are back with "the devil you know ..." syndrome.
What can break this static state of affairs? Probably we could start with a change of leadership on both sides. This is more likely to happen with the party not in power (UNC) but there are some rumours floating around that Dr. Rowley plans to retire before the next elections due in 2025. Depending on who the PNM chooses to lead it then (assuming that this happens) PNM will probably win. There is a rumour that Stuart Young, Dr. Rowley's "Mr. fix-it", will be the replacement. If this were to be true then the situation will be back to square one. Mr. Young does not enjoy widespread popularity and is too closely associated with Dr, Rowley. If there is an acceptable (to the electorate) change of leadership on either side and that change happens soon, then the party that enacts the leadership change will stand a better chance than the one that doesn't. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Politicians rarely act in what is the best interests of the country unless those interests happen to coincide. Put another way, meaningful change on either side remains most unlikely.
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