BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WOULD Prime Minister of the Federation the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil L. Douglas be as “gracious” as Grant by relinquishing his position as Leader of the country?
Former member of Dr. Douglas’ administration – G. A. Dwyer Astaphan – expressed his unyielding belief that that would not likely happen, but he is of the view that specific individuals might have to make a move to urge Dr. Douglas to resign from both the leadership of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party and the country.
“I am a believer in the philosophy and the traditions of the Labour Movement. I am not a believer in what Denzil Douglas stands for and does, because I believe he has made a total wreck of all the legacies of the Labour Stalwarts past. And he has hijacked the party and turned it into his own little mule to ride on. He is not going to do the gracious thing that Mr. Grant did, so it means that people are going to have to move him out…his own people.
“And I hope that what Mr. Grant did will send a signal to Mr. Condor and Mr. Harris because, as gracious as Mr. Grant’s act was, I am sure it came about as a result of discussion and his recognising among his colleagues and supporters that in the best interest of the party and, perhaps more importantly, in the best interest of democracy and the country, he needed to go. So I want us to give him credit for taking that step. He could have been autocratic and pigheaded and say, ‘I am the boss here and I will go when I am ready’.”
Astaphan’s belief is that Dr. Douglas has adopted a dictatorial mentality and has exhausted his usefulness at the helm of both the Labour Party and the Government. And since he doesn’t seem to have intentions of moving, he should be moved.
“Anybody who holds that position needs to be moved. And I think Mr. Condor and Dr. Harris need to now show what they have inside them in the best interest of the traditions of the Labour Movement, in the best interest of what is really the Labour Party and, most importantly, in the best interest of democracy and the country.
“…If the question is should the leader move on and the answer is yes but the leader doesn’t want to move on his or her own, then you have to move him on! And it is a question of moving on. Mr. Grant has moved on as the Leader. Denzil Douglas needs to be moved out as the Leader. This nonsense about there being nobody to replace him, to replace a leader who has done so much damage to this country in every way, that’s ridiculous!”
While he did not specifically issue a call, Astaphan suggested that “Condor and Harris need to see what Grant has done and focus on the issue of changing the leadership, whether the leader does it on his own or you have to do it for him”.
