BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – COMMENTING on the current political landscape of St. Kitts and Nevis, social commentator and historian Washington ‘Washie’ Archibald strongly believes that Backbenchers the Hons. Sam Condor and Dr. Timothy Harris should hasten in crossing the floor.
Tuesday (Mar. 5) both Harris and Condor – along with the elected Members on the Opposition Benches – issued a letter to the Governor-General indicating that they do not support Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Denzil L. Douglas and reiterating their call for the Motion of No Confidence to be tabled expeditiously.
Condor and Harris also crystallised their position on that matter, stating categorically that they would vote in favour of it.
In an exclusive interview with this publication, Archibald expressed that the difference between Harris and Condor and Dr. Douglas is not physical, but one which is ideological.
“At the stage at which the present impasse has reached, the next step is for both Dr. Harris and Mr. Condor to cross the floor and join in transparent opposition with the other opposition forces. I believe that the difference between Dr. Douglas and his two (former) Senior Ministers is more than just personal. I don’t believe that there is a personal vendetta at the root of this problem...I believe there is an ideological difference. I believe that Dr. Douglas has strayed from the ideological path of the Labour Party and his two colleagues have been trying desperately to keep the Labour agenda on the path on which the founding fathers of the Labour Party placed it.
“The problem of Land really brought matters to a head…Because, I think, we could look back and trace the present problems to the Land Bill; that land business that both of them protested against in Parliament. That is a serious ideological difference between Dr. Douglas and these two ex-Ministers. And so this kind of ideological difference with him, he seems to have been able to buy the support of those other members of the Party who are not as entrenched as Mr. Condor and Dr. Harris. It seems he has bought their support for his policy of land disposition which goes against the original principles of the Labour Party.”
As indicated by Archibald, with the ideological disparity and Messrs. Condor and Harris publicly indicating their intended vote in favour of the Motion, they should make a “clean sweep” and officially join those on the Opposition Benches.
Additionally, he indicated that should these men remain on the Government Benches, Dr. Douglas could rightly declare that he has a majority government.
“Dr. Douglas is claiming that the Labour Party still had a majority, that he leads with a majority although these two men have been diametrically opposite to him in so much that he got to get the rid of them out of his Cabinet, and he thought he should openly denounce these men, both in the Parliament and on the radio…
“So I believe that on the basis of this ideological difference, these two men should hurry up and cross the floor and give our people a clear indication as to where they stand opposite to Dr. Douglas in the interest of our country. They need to make a clean break because there are people out there waiting on them to make a clean break. As long as they stay on that side of the House, Dr. Douglas and his supporters are able to claim that they have a majority.”
