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King Ralph... mad
One term fu Papa catches the eye |
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IT CREATED quite an impact from the time it was
unveiled.
As the days draw closer to the December 7 general election, it
is left to be seen what difference it will actually make.
However, if the Arnhim Eustace-led Opposition New Democratic Party
(NDP) were to dethrone the incumbent Unity labour Party (ULP),
you can bet your bottom dollar, the anonymous Vincentian artist,
who painted a depiction of a dishevelled Prime Minister Dr. Ralph
Gonsalves, will someday become a rich man, and no doubt something
of a folk hero, too, who might become the toast of the bars around
the island.
A huge billboard, entitled “One Term fu Papa”, has
been the talk of the town in St. Vincent and the Grenadines ever
since it was unveiled to thousands of enthusiastic New Democratic
Party (NDP) supporters at a rally in Bequia last Sunday.
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The “One Term fu Papa” billboard represented a satirised
caricature of Gonsalves, who has often personally described himself
as “Papa”. Under the theme and actual depiction of a
scruffy looking, unshaven Gonsalves, read: “One bad term deserves
no other.”
On Monday, the political work of art, commissioned by what TnT Mirror
discovered as a group calling themselves “Friends of the Anti-Ralph
Campaign”, was put on public display opposite the Central
Market Square, in front of the Court House in downtown Kingstown.
After attracting huge crowds, police officials removed the attention-grabbing
billboard, claiming that it was disruptive and causing unnecessary
public congestion.
According to political commentator Junior Bacchus, the billboard
was arrested by the police officers only to be released within an
hour, as soon as legal representatives visited the police station.
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It was then mounted on the tray of a pick
up van and paraded throughout the capital city Kingstown,
Bacchus told Mirror.
Hardly by accident any more than by design, thousands of
posters and flyers depicting the famed “One term fu
Papa” billboard was distributed throughout Kingstown
on Monday afternoon.
On Tuesday, the famed billboard made appearances in other
areas in St. Vincent and Grenadines, an exercise that was
expected to continue throughout the length and breadth of
the Caribbean Island state, with a population of just around
110,000.
“People are looking at the portrayal, which depicts
the character looking something like the raggedy Saddam
Hussein when he was cornered in a rat hole in Iraq by Americans
soldiers, and some are saying ‘King Ralph gone mad’,”
Bacchus said.
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ULP
Leader Dr. RALPH GONSALVES
NDP Leader ARNHIM EUSTACE.
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On Wednesday,
NDP leader Arnhim Eustace presented his 2005 election manifesto,
entitled “Your Trust, Our Vision – Building a Knowledge-based
Economy”.
This 56-page document complimented the NDP’s “Ecomomic
Plan” that was presented to the public just over two Sundays
ago.
The NDP’s Manifesto focused on transitioning the Vincentian
economy from a tourism and agriculture base towards a knowledge-based
economy. Special emphasis was placed on the development on human
capital and facilitating the private sector as the engine of economic
growth and job creation.
Particular attention was also placed on youth and gender issues.
As the campaign enters the crucial last days, the challenge for
both the Opposition NDP and ruling ULP is geared at attracting the
much needed swing voters.
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The NDP, which appeared to have made major
strides towards recapturing power following the announcement
of the December 7 polls some three months ahead of its constitutionally
due date, has campaigned on the issues of poverty reduction
through its “basic needs programme”, “economic
restructuring that will improve the quality of life for
all” and “public and private sector reform”
as well as the “promise to end political victimisation,
as practised by the Ralph Gonsalves Administration”.
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Massive
crowds turned up at a NDP rally.
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As a desperate
response to the NDP’s proactive campaign, the ULP has engaged
a number of big artistes, among which is renowned Reggae band Third
World, to perform at their upcoming finale political rally this
weekend.
Many persons appear to have benefited from the million-dollar patronage
of the ULP’s political campaign.
Information reaching a number of key political stakeholders suggested
that in a last minute attempt to save “King Ralph” from
his demise, a number of Regional Political Leaders are expected
to attend the last rallies of the ULP. Included in this group is
Prime Minister Patrick Manning from TnT, who is expected to stop
over in St. Vincent on his return from a visit to Israel followed
by his attendance at Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in
Malta.
Political analysts have mostly concluded that the race has indeed
been tightened and that the swing vote is critical in deciding who
will win the election.
All political activists were busy encouraging voters to make sure
and cast their vote, for in this general election every single vote
is crucial.
Bacchus said: “The swing votes, most would contend, are rooted
on a silent anti-Ralph sentiment that can easily be translated into
votes against the ULP on election day.
Mirror was told that People’s National Movement (PNM) strategists
working alongside the ULP campaign plan to use their trademark old
shot of using pollsters in a bid to influence swing voters on the
eve of Wednesday’s election.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines has a population of around 110,000,
with an electorate of just below 90,000. Dr. Gonsalves, who acclaimed
himself as a “Caribbean king” when he announced the
election date on November 7, had won the last election in March
2001 by a handsome 12-3 landslide to dethrone the NDP.
Election was constitutionally due in March 2006, but were called
early in the face of mounting pressure against the Gonsalves administration.
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