Cry Baby

Opposition leader David Thompson has now become the cry-baby of local politics.

At this stage of its history, the Democartic Labour Party is assuming the role of the local clergy and pretending to be embarking on a moral crusade.

In the last edition of the Sunday Sun, Harold Hoyte argued that there must be an aspect of “rascality” about poltical leadership, but political neophytes who are unfamilar with the nuances of language and realpolitik have taken it at its literal meaning. No commentator in his right mind would welcome skullduggery and scheming in our poltical culture. It is an accepted fact of politics that leaders must display a degree of coldness and toughness in the execution of their duties.

Meanwhile, playing to the gallery, Thompson has asserted according to the Nation of Monday, October 22, that “he will not lie, cheat or steal to get to the top in Barbados”.

He further pointed out: ” That goes against everything that I stand for and seek to instill in my children. If today I am being told that I have to become Machiavellian and that I have to develop traits of rascality and that what I say does not necessarily have to be what I mean, then I have to ponder long and hard on this.”

Thompson is too intelligent to interpret Hoyte’s observation in this way, but now seeks to play on the emotions of the Barbadian public who generally align themselves with the underdog.

As a leader of a major political party he would have to be familiar with the sentiments expressed by former British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, who is reported to have said:” The first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher”. In other words, leaders must be cold and clinical if they are to protect the interests of their country in a world where every nation is fighting for space and the betterment of its people.

It is kindergaten politics to bring the writings of Machiavelli into the current debate about leadership of the country. No one wants a leader to be corrupt and untruthful. In any event, in his book, the Prince, Machiavelli was addressing the issue of realpolitik. In fact, leading academics the world over have all hailed Machiavelli as the founder of modern political science and modern historical analysis. It was not Machiavelli who is reported to have said that a country does not have permanent friends, but permanent interests.