How Jack Warner Killed the COP

                On the evening of October 21, the results of the Local Government Elections in Trinidad came in with an overriding theme. The Partnership government had lost the mandate of the people that it enjoyed at one time. A more subtle result came with the election returns as well. This result was much quieter but was noted by a number of political analysts in Trinidad who were offering their thoughts on television throughout the evening. The Congress of the People (COP) had lost its relevance. A party that at one time likened itself as the solution-oriented party of Trinidad & Tobago with experienced political leadership that made it the most vital ally in the formation of the People’s Partnership in 2010 had almost no voice in the Local Government elections. Instead, the newly formed Independent Liberal Party (ILP) found itself fighting for local government seats against the Peoples National Movement (PNM) and the United National Congress (UNC). If the question then turns to how the COP lost its relevance in such short order, perhaps the beginning of the party’s fall can be traced back to September of 2012.

                At that time, rumors and accusations ranging from incompetence to corruption were swirling around Jack Warner who was then a member of the UNC representing the constituency of Chaguanas West as a Member of Parliament. The accusations of incompetence stemmed from his tenure as the Minister of Works and Transport. In fact, his performance in that position raised the ire of so many that his portfolio was reduced to just Minister of Works. The rumors of corruption were those that came from Warner’s work with FIFA and CONCACAF and which were, to some extent, eventually corroborated. While he was a strong political leader, Warner was also becoming a political liability for the Partnership government. The presence of an individual who seemed to have controversy and accusations of shady-dealings follow him everywhere hung like a dark cloud over all actions of the government. In fact, Jack Warner’s position in the Prime Minister’s Cabinet was eroding the government’s moral legitimacy.

                Vernon de Lima, then Vice-Chairman of the COP, made the move to call upon Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to remove Jack Warner from her Cabinet. Convinced that the integrity of the Partnership Government; a ruling government in which the COP was an integral part of forming with the UNC; was at stake, Mr. de Lima put forth a resolution for consideration by the COP. The resolution demanded that the Prime Minister remove Jack Warner from the Cabinet or else the COP would remove itself as a member-party of the People’s Partnership. It was a bold move to say the least. The COP held a number of influential positions in the government and to remove itself from the ruling partnership would put much of that influence in jeopardy. Mr. de Lima’s position in the matter was clear however. He wanted the COP to be that voice that stood for good governance and for solutions to the problems of Trinidad & Tobago. If corruption was an identified problem in the country, then the COP should take a firm stand against it no matter how politically inconvenient it was. When the resolution was put to vote as to whether the COP would demand the removal of the politically powerful and valuable Jack Warner or would choose to work within ‘the system’ of governmental power, the COP voted by a margin of 91-6 against the proposed resolution. After the vote, COP members spoke of the necessity to work with the government and not voluntarily remove themselves from power in order to do the most good for the people of Trinidad & Tobago. That vote, which led Vernon de Lima to resign his position in the COP, turned out to be a seminal moment in the history of the party.

                Since that time, the COP has lost some of its influence within the Partnership government and has seen the enthusiast support it once had dramatically fade, as is evidenced by the Local Government elections. Ironically, it appears that the man to drive the nail into the political coffin of the COP is none other than Jack Warner himself. Months later, Warner found himself in the midst of yet another round of accusations. This time, however, he was removed from the Cabinet, his seat in Parliament was declared vacant, and he was kicked out of the UNC. Not to be outdone, Jack Warner formed his own political party, the ILP, and subsequently won back the seat he was forced to vacate. And within 4 months of its formation, it is Warner’s ILP that received wide support from Trinidad voters who did not support the PNM or the UNC in the Local Government elections. The position of being the 3^rd party for Trinidadians frustrated with the performance of both the PNM and the UNC had belonged to the COP, but no longer. Perhaps if the COP had supported the resolution last September against Jack Warner, they would have been seen as the party that Trinidadians could turn to when they are tired of the status-quo. Instead, the COP chose to maintain the status-quo. In politics, boldness is risky but is often rewarded. No one knows that better than Jack Warner.