Therold Prudent, leader of the Lucian People’s Movement (LPM), says he isn’t surprised by Leo Clarke’s, (secretary of the St Lucia Labour Party) combative belittling of him and the LPM after the disclosure of the results of a simple online survey that questioned the effectiveness of Prime Minister Kenny Anthony’s leadership.
Prudent says he understands the reason for Leo Clarke’s passionate outburst, given that he has more to lose than any other member of his party now that the SLP is in power. He said that with the permanency of Clarke’s position as general secretary for more than 15 years and Kenny Anthony’s position as leader for the past 17 years, the SLP has become a party of good ol’ boys.
He added that while the permanency of the SLP’s leadership is no business of the LPM, Saint Lucians should be reminded of 2006 when, on the eve of the general election, the leadership of the SLP sought to mislead the nation and influence the outcome by authorizing the release of a bogus poll showing that the party was headed to victory with a commanding 14–3 majority.
The results, as we all know, are etched in the annals of Saint Lucian electoral history. The SLP’s reaction to LPM’s online poll demonstrates the hypocrisy and self-righteousness of a party that will do whatever it takes to retain power.
Prudent concluded by saying that while the SLP may delude itself into believing that it has a monopoly on power and that no one should listen to the LPM given its status as a smaller opposition party, the LPM is convinced that the people are much wiser than the SLP’s permanent leadership.
Therefore, the LPM, says it is unperturbed by the SLP’s belittling, and intends to one day “give St Lucia the government it truly deserves.”
