58% of the 41 people who voted thought that Berenger brought more instability to a government than Sithanen. It's true that the current leader of the opposition has been sacked by not one but two Prime Ministers in the past. Once in 1983 after 9 months by SAJ and the other by Navin Ramgoolam in 1997.
And if I not mistaken he was also sacked by SAJ between 1991 and 1995.
8 comments:
This year's elections will be the real test for Berenger. He is proposing a scenario where he cannot be sacked, unless by himself! Will the voters support his proposal? He cannot be compared with Sithanen because unlike the latter he is part of history and is accepted by all as a leader. Sithanen cannot create instability but has proved to be a liability for his own party.
Rama is a liability to the country itself!
Why didn't he shut up like Mahen, Sylvio, Etienne and Dharam?
I think Berenger has a very strong personality.
It is one of the main reason that I think the MMM-Ptr alliance did not materialise. Having a strong personality as a No 2 does not really lead to a stable party unless the No 1 has a much stronger personality.
However, I feel the survey is actually non-sensical as you cannot compare a party leader to a finance minister(from within the party) in the same league as regards stability.
Though I hate all the political parties, I do think giving Berenger a chance will not make much of a difference to the country. All of them will bring us down, what only changes is the manner in which they do it.
@Kozemotande: Berenger is indeed accepted as a leader and has been a formidable one too. Too bad he didn't put more of this energy of his to make Mauritius better.
Sithanen is second to none when it comes to creating economic instability which eventually leads to political instability. And in February 2007 he also brought his fair share of political instability only because Ramgoolam let him do that.
@akagugo: big liability indeed. His abilities have been grossly oversold. The only reason why he's been around is because our traditional media isn't as independent as it should have been. But there are some journalists out there who do a great jobs plus there is blogosphere which is a big incentive for the lame ducks to clean up their acts or face extinction.
@ConversationLimited: True Berenger has a very strong personality but has been a rather weak statesman. And I wonder whether he knows people outside the Indian Ocean.
It's ok for the no 2 to be stronger than the no 1 provided the no 1 is a leader, which Navin is not. Just look at the people he surrounds himself with.
Well, the survey was for people to assess past configurations and express themselves on a current topic.
Did you listen to what Navin said in his meeting of yesterday at Vacoas? Apparently the only minister that has been "protecting the interests of the private sector" is now out of the government, and that apparently "aster ki zot pou conner"...
If what was said by the PM at Vacoas is true then the debate takes a real turn now. NR cannot claim paternity for the so-called economic success. Pas capav manze banane dan 2 boutes. Can he? Sithanen's policies were flawed and the country will take some time to recover from the vagaries of his economic choices. The problem is that he was supported by the PM and the whole Government during all that time. Nita Deerpalsing and Cader Sayed Hossen tried to offer some resistance but not for long. The PM statement sounds like a real mea culpa. Let's hope that his actions, if he wins the elections, will follow suit.
@ Sanjay
Agree with you on both counts!
Something quite funny, about NR is that he claims to be a "rassembleur" and the PM of the people.
I was just wondering why he (or any other politician) has not attempted to stand up for election in other constituencies with different ethnic compositions?
All the talk about not involving communalism is just lip service. I do hope that "Rezistan & Alternativ" gets a favourable response!
What your thoughts on this?
@akagugo: Ramgoolam is strong on making big statements and telling dumb and often inexact stories. Am only interested in seeing results.
@Kozemotande: Sithanen being dumped is the biggest mea culpa that Ramgoolam could have admitted. Economic management can only improve with Vishnu or Pravin as Minister of Finance. Of course that's not what a section of the mainstream media will tell you. You have to understand them: their best agent has just been shot down. Lol!
@ConversationLimited: I think Ramgoolam would be elected in many ridings but maybe not as easily in Rose-Hill/Stanley. Ethnic politics will probably always be a factor to reckon with but we can definitely spend more time on issues that matter to us.
Rezistans ek Alternativ got a strong case: you shouldn't need more than your citizenship to stand in a general election. After all aren't we a secular nation? I won't be sad if they win their case which starts in half an hour. Far from that.
Still we shouldn't forget that the same constitution allowed us, among other things, to prove Meade wrong. The best constitution in the world will not guarantee the best governance. We need good leaders full stop. And good debate.
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