Opinion
- Editorial- Commentary
Judy Raymond
:
When the PM loses his cool
Without being disrespectful to the institution of Parliament, and especially, of course, the institution of Prime Minister Patrick "Mr Cool" Manning-it must be said that the Excise Duty (Compressed Natural Gas) Order is even more obscure than it sounds.
This has nothing to do with Mr Manning, since to say so would be to pursue a course of action that could cause the image of this institution and individual to be tarnished in the minds of those in whose interest he is set up to serve.
(No, wait a minute, that can't be right. Of course that cannot be so. How could Mr Manning be "set up to serve," when in fact he runs the country? Surely it would not be proper journalism to describe him in such terms. But those were his words. So was he being disrespectful of himself?)
Anyway, Mr Manning strolled into the House on Friday perfectly calmly, not only because it is his right as a citizen to visit anywhere he wants, but also because he had finished running the country for the day. The spirit had not moved him to visit-even very coolly-any of the 34 radio stations, seven television stations and three daily newspapers that don't practise proper journalism by pursuing a pro-government agenda. But perhaps he hasn't disapproved of the reporting of any more media houses recently, because he has not needed another haircut. So, not having spent any time in the barber's saloon, he has not heard, seen or read any of the disrespectful content produced by these unprofessional commentators.
Mr Manning's arrival was so extremely cool and low-key that it was almost like that of any ordinary citizen-although of course, being the Prime Minister, he is not an ordinary citizen at all, and indeed it would be disrespectful to say so. Thus, whenever he travels, he has a security detail. He was, as always, prudent in the conduct of his security business, and no doubt ensured that the integrity of his security was preserved.
Yet on Friday his perfectly normal security detail may not even have blocked off Abercromby Street when he decided to visit the Red House. And the security guard who accompanied him into the chamber wasn't even carrying a visible gun, so anxious was Mr Manning not to intimidate anyone.
There was a brief thundershower during the sitting, but it had absolutely nothing to do with Mr Manning, who did not storm in or out even once, but ambled properly out of the chamber and back again as the spirit moved him.
Meanwhile Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira explained that the cost of compressed natural gas was to be reduced, to encourage more drivers to use CNG, which was more environmentally friendly than gasoline.
The Opposition was sceptical, and indeed under any less cool prime minister this might have been a touchy subject: it had been unprofessional remarks on the safety of CNG tanks that made Mr Manning decide to drop in casually (but properly) at 94.1FM-and thus unleash a barrage of disrespectful commentary around his innocently protruding ears. Vasant Bharath suggested the way to help drivers was to lower the price of gas, and that cutting the cost of CNG was an attempt to mamaguy the population. Chandresh Sharma said the Government was shameless to talk about CNG use resulting in cleaner air, while at the same time building a smelter plant.
Mr Manning was neither intimidated or the least bit enraged by these criticisms, though surely he must have been aggrieved. Yet he smiled as if they were music to his ears-although it would be inaccurate to use that offending figure of speech, not to mention disrespectful, because Mr Manning would take it literally. The issue wasn't to do with music, you see, ladies and gentlemen, but with the agenda the Opposition was pursuing, which the Prime Minister seemed able to identify as not being pro-government, and therefore unprofessional.
The penny finally dropped when Subhas Panday dared to suggest that when the Prime Minister had a car that ran on CNG, he did not have to join the long lines at service stations, but was privileged: he came last but filled up first, Mr Panday alleged. This disrespect for the institution of the prime ministerial gas tank was too much to bear. Mr Manning wanted redress, and got it, since it was not the intransigent media he was dealing with. Rather than threatening to sue Mr Panday, he retorted (professionally), "That's not true!"
Nevertheless, sparks flew in the House that afternoon-but needless to say, they had nothing to do with Mr Manning. At 4.15, a disrespectful lightbulb exploded overhead, showering burning debris over the Government back bench, and sending Education Minister Esther Le Gendre diving out of her seat. The fragments reportedly started a small fire on the carpet, and ministers had to brush glowing embers from their clothes. But the sparks conducted themselves professionally, and did not attack Mr Manning. And, quite properly, he did not lose his cool.
Judy Raymond
is
the Editor News and Features
of the Trinidad Express. Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views.
This
commentary was originally published by Trinidad Express, Sunday, November 9th 2008 . Petroleumworld
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