There are unconfirmed reports that at a secret meeting of the Cabinet Dr. Rowley tried to get the Cabinet to agree that Minister of Energy Stuart Young would be his successor. According to these unconfirmed reports there was tremendous 'push back' from the Cabinet.
While both of these reports are highly believable it has to be noticed that they are unconfirmed. Assuming (though certainly not accepting) that there is truth in these two rumours, they certainly warrant a closer look. On the one hand, Mr. Young has been a very close confidant of Dr. Rowley from the very beginning. He has shown great loyalty to Dr. Rowley and has not hesitated to paint his leader in the most favourable light. On the other hand , he is not black. Question: will the rank and file of the PNM accept this? Other question: will the rank and file feel that Mr. Young is responsible for a lot of the 'screw-ups' and that swinging behind a non-black man will be the same thing as allowing an Indian (Mrs. Persad Bissessar) into power? In other words, they would have nothing to lose by 'sitting on their hands'.
Dr. Rowley, for example, can resign as leader of the PNM but stay on as Prime Minister until a new leader is chosen. Put another way, there are several options open to him. One thing is certain though: the longer he stays the more difficult his successor (whoever it may be) will find it hard to get established.
The problem is that the economy has not done well under Dr. Rowley; house prices and rents are soaring as well as food prices; everything costs more. Two people can eat in a restaurant in Miami for one sixth of thecost for the same meal in Port of Spain.
I can understand Dr. Rowley's preference for Mr. Young (assuming but not accepting that there is any truth in these rumours). It would come at a time when the Opposition is very weak and would belie the belief that the PNM is racist. On the other hand, Mr. Young would be the weakest leader to date having no racial or other base to rely on.
Prime Ministers get extremely accurate security reports that say explicitly which party is currently in the lead in the polls. It is not therefore beyond the realm of possibility that the Prime Minister's announcement of his intention to resign was influenced by the fear that he was going to lose the coming elections based on his security reports and he wants to be perceived as being undefeated.. He has already taken care of his pension (which will be in excess of $84,000) and will have more than enough time to indulge in his favourite pastime - golf!
Well, we'll see soon enough. I have a bet with myself (and ONLY with myself) that this won't happen, i.e., that the PNM will NOT choose Mr. Young as its leader. But then, we'll soon see, won't we?
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