Dr. Keith Rowley
What do you think about Dr. Keith Rowley's being fired from Cabinet by Patrick Manning?
Image from ttparliament.org.
Dr. Keith Rowley (Hover)
I find it all very suspicious, but then again they've been fighting for years and now that Manning is probably in his last term he has nothing to lose.
Is anyone really surprised by this latest development?
I found it very suspicious when the majority of the PNM cabinet were newcomers and there were only a handful of old PNM ministers. Patrick Manning is working towards becoming the next President and he hopes to eliminate the post of Prime Minister entirely. In order for him to be successful in his endeavour, he must have the full support of his cabinet. He is eliminating anyone whom he considers a threat and of course, that includes Dr Rowley. Anyone who disagrees or attempts to stand up to the Honourable Prime Minister, will be dismissed.
Now let us examine other important facts to this case. Patrick Manning did not choose Mr Kenneth Valley because of a falling out. It was safe to choose someone else over Mr Valley because many individuals complained that whenever there was a problem, Mr Valley was never available to assist. If he selected someone else over Dr Rowley, PNM would surely lose their seat in the West to COP member Mr Rocky Garcia.
Initially when I heard the report on the news, I was under the impression that the Prime Minister was present at the meeting where Dr Rowley conducted himself in an "unacceptable manner." Lo and behold, Mr Manning chose to rely on the words of five ministers (who all remain anonymous to the public) and based on their comments, he dismissed Dr Rowley. But my question is, who is Mr Patrick Manning protecting? Is it UDECOTT? Or was this whole incident a perfect excuse for Mr Manning to get rid of Dr Rowley?
I applaud Dr Rowley for having the courage to stand up to the Honourable Prime Minister. I believe the dismissal was uncalled for and even if Dr Rowley conducted himself in a "hooligan" manner, Mr Manning could have suspended Dr Rowley or even given him a stern verbal warning. I strongly believe that this is the biggest mistake our Honourable Prime Minister has made because Dr Keith Rowley was considered a favourite to all PNM supporters. In addition to this, Mr Manning is making himself more transparent to the public and from now on, all Trinbagonians will be monitoring him under a microscope.
Stay tuned to see if Mr Colm Imbert will he be the next one, to receive his marching orders from the Honourable Prime Minister!
Edited: Geenie on 30th Apr, 2008 - 7:15pm
Doing the right and proper thing
While many will applaud the final decision of the High Court in the matter involving the Integrity Commission which was brought by the MP for Diego Martin West, Dr Keith Rowley, all High Court decisions have to be viewed broadly. Ref. Source 3
What do you think... Will Dr. Keith Rowley be the new Opposition Leader? There are some things that makes me think he will not be:
1. The President of the country appoints the Opposition Leader based on who all the opposing MPs can support. Dr. Keith Rowley is not very popular within his own ranks.
2. The other thing that may seem less subtle is that Dr. Keith Rowley may have added to his own party's demise by using words like "court martial" and so forth. These things perhaps leave a bitter flavor among his peers who have supported and still believe in Patrick Manning.
Not sure of this one but I think the rest of the party KNOWS (Even though they don't publicly admit it) is that Manning was the cause of this huge loss. Rowley is seen as some sort of hero for a lot of supporters because he was willing to expose corruption. I think he will be the next leader.
Well, I think they're considering Imbert or Brown (the latest is the one Manning wants) more for a permanent position BUT let's not forget that Dr. Rowley has some faithful and loud followers that won't doubt in putting the pressure when is needed.