It can be easily argued that the Opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP) was passed a superb ball. What did they do with it? They scored an own goal and did so in spectacular fashion.
As we noted last week in this editorial space, the defection of Christ Church South Member of Parliament Ralph Thorne from the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) over to the opposition DLP was supposed to expose the wounds of the ruling administration.
Mr Thorne’s shock move from the backbench after being overlooked by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley over several iterations of her large Cabinet, should have been the thing that signalled some unravelling of a tightly woven BLP force.
It was the second time, one of the Mottley lieutenants jumped ship and headed to the President Her Excellency Dame Sandra Mason to indicate they no longer supported the ruling party.
The high drama expected from the crossing of an erudite, articulate, and respected legal mind was to create the kind of frenzy that would unsettle the ruling administration and even possibly lead to like action from others who felt similarly dissatisfied.
Mr Thorne’s appointment of strong, aggressive debaters in the form of attorney-at-law and public advocate Tricia Watson, along with businessman and former St Michael North West DLP candidate Ryan Walters to the Senate was greeted with general public approval.
Instead of Barbadians looking forward to benefiting from robust debate in the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament that serve to strengthen our democracy, the public instead witnessed a distracting sideshow.
Words such as “messy”, “immature”, and “disappointing” have been used to describe what played out within the DLP, as its Executive Council tried to decide whether it should accept Mr Thorne back into the fold.
To the rest of Barbados, this would appear to be a no-brainer. The DLP was solidly whipped in two consecutive general elections, gaining not a single seat in the 30 constituencies that were up for grabs.
If the opposition party from George Street believed the response of Barbadians in 2018 was a knee-jerk reaction to the economic precipice the island was at, voters again said they still had no confidence in the DLP to run the country in 2022.
However, frustration is building across the country. It is obvious that public sentiment is not where it was and there appears to be an opening created for the Dems.
Barbadians, especially those in the middle, are notorious for not openly declaring their hand when it comes to general elections.
At the same time, we are witnessing what appears to be organic opposition groups forming that are prepared to challenge and call out the actions of government to which they do not agree.
Dissenting voices are increasing in traditional media as well as online. The controversial Cybercrime Bill has served to further fuel discontent because so many Barbadians worry that the criminalizing of some online speech and actions and increasing powers of the Police Service to demand access to people’s computers and other devices, will result in censorship and curtailing of rights and freedoms.
The Dems, on the other hand, fumbled the process of Mr Thorne’s re-entry to the party.
Mr Thorne’s presence in the party is a win-win. It now has a voice in Parliament, and two seats in the Senate Chamber with formidable voices.
The party is scrambling for funds after losing access to the taxpayers’ funded subvention because it has no seats in the House of Assembly. Mr Thorne’s presence fixes that problem.
However, the party is still struggling with leadership, and it is still seen as “not ready for prime time” because of internal wranglings.
Though it is in the process of doing some “clean-up” in aisle 13, the way the party handles its affairs from here on, could determine whether it will suffer another humiliating defeat or begin to regain some ground and respect from the Barbadian electorate.
Those on the Executive Council of the DLP should understand that they are not only being observed and assessed by Dems, but a discerning Barbadian electorate.
