The Face of Unity

Yesterday, Lester B. Bird himself attacked this blog's reporting in the Antigua Sun. He made up a crazy, untrue conspiracy theory about this venue, which seeks not to take sides, but, to be a fair and open venue for all Antiguans and Barbudans to discuss the issues facing our island and assess the cold reality of the political situation without bias. As I wrote in my first post, "If you're looking for UPP or ALP propaganda, you've come to the wrong place. We tell it like it is here. With the election looming Antiguans deserve a place to get the facts - not party propaganda. The comments of this blog are open and we encourage debate and discussion. We have a lot to talk about over the next few months. This is your forum. Use it to speak out and have a civil debate over the direction our country chooses to go in the looming election."

We invite Lester Bird, Gaston Browne and ALP supporters as well as supporters of the UPP to post in the comments section of this blog. Participate in the discussion and let's get Antigua talking.

In reference to Mr. Bird's comments, it's perfectly understandable that he send a message of unity to the voters. It's good political strategy to show unity and not air their dirty laundry in public. Had I been advising Mr. Bird, I would've advised him to do exactly what he did. But, I am not in the business of giving advice to Lester Bird, I am in the business of telling it like it is. And, the truth is, as stated by well placed ALP sources who choose to remain anonymous to protect themselves, that there's a lot of tension in the ALP.

Don't just take their or our word for it. Consider the facts. The ALP has been on the defensive for weeks. The Gaston Browne attacks kicked off weeks of bad headlines for the ALP. It included praying for bribes and the Asot Michael revelation. The different factions within the ALP are, of course, pointing the finger at the UPP in public, but, behind the scenes, they're grumbling about each other's mistakes.

It's not just the newswpapers. The poorly organised and promoted ALP march last week that resulted in poor turnout for the ALP was also cause for grumbling from ALP insiders. The ALP has a history of holding very successful events, but, it's clear to all that this one fell flat. Some are asking if the ALP has lost it's touch, but, many believe that it's simply a matter of poor organisation and strategy that's causing the problems.

The ALP has a formidable political machine and it appears they still have some time to get their act together. But, they're going to need to clean the Big Red House and stop the infighting.