COMMENTARY: The enemy of my enemy

By Dickson Igwe, Contributor

It is wise to be forewarned. Why? To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Now human beings share a similar trait with wolves. We move in packs. We are tribal. The dubious politician knows this. He will however pretend this culture does not exist. However, when he or she is with their ‘’own’’ so to speak the tribal leader emerges. The talk is all folksy, we are all cousins, we share the same great grand-mother.

The name of the game is as old as politics: DIVIDE AND RULE. It is an effective weapon in the hands of wannabe Julius Caesars.

Divide and rule becomes especially potent when the stakes are high as in the present electoral configuration that is as unpredictable as it gets.

Now any wise voter with ears to the ground, reading between the lines, will observe that the politics of tribe is well underway in the present election campaign.

Caesar is dividing the voting public into well known categories and sub-categories. Generational Virgin Islander with both parents ancestral Virgin Islanders; One parent generational Virgin Islander; born here with migrant parents; here from young; and so on.

This is the biggest scam in Virgin Islands politics to date. It is furthermore the height of hypocrisy. These are the same people who scream racism and colonialism at the smallest exertion by the UK FCO.

The idea is to divide the voter into these preceding groups so the voter will vote for the politician who is most like them, sharing a similar tribal DNA so to speak.

Do not be conned by this old trick. It is an attempt to get the voter to move away from the issues into emotion. That is what happened in MAGA USA and today most US Citizens cannot wait to see the back of the King of Orange.

Vote vision, mission, and competence in 2027. The preceding alone will fix this country’s catastrophic failures. Look at the past actions of politicians and if they have not delivered in 20 years, they will not deliver in the upcoming 20 years. Do not simply vote for Tanti or Uncle because you share the same surname, come from the same village, or sit in the same church pew.

As this Investigator has admonished from the very start of this campaign season, vote for politicians that will be accountable and equitable, and please do not hesitate to punish those who have failed to deliver. They will fail you again and again.

Anyone invested in Virgin Islands politics and society and not acknowledging the well put together machine that is the Virgin Islands Party will be caught off-guard. That error is already taking place with the lack of any sustainable effort to form a credible opposition late in the game of a General Election to be held in 2027.

The VIP has in the past been heralded as the party of the grassroots. That assertion is valid. It is the party of the building contractor and small businessman, the skilled artisan and the working man and woman.

The people who are deemed to earn between $15K – 60K. Clearly these numbers are not science but simple observation. However, the reach of the VIP into the nooks and crannies of Virgin Islands geography are impressive. In past elections that grassroots connection has delivered rich rewards.  

The VIP is also far more disciplined than any of the other political groups, and is able to unite behind a leader once that leader has been chosen in a transparent and democratic process, unlike the other parties. The VIP is not a one man show. Any leader who attempts to usurp power in the VIP frequently hits a barrier.

Then the reality is that the BVI remains a party system politically. Independents hope to change that arithmetic. That is highly improbable. Politics today is about teamwork. Voters are not about to change their habit of voting party notwithstanding how unpopular the incumbents may be at present.

The main opposing party the NDP had a strong structure for years. It is unclear if that structure can be maintained. Ambition is a good thing until it becomes a bad thing.

The VIP in spite all of the criticisms and public anger on a number of policy failures continues to have a small advantage. That advantage comes singularly from its discipline and structure. Any challenging force in 2007 will have to at least match that structure to win the election.

Then there is history. This investigator frequently states that we ignore history at our peril. The VIP and NDP led the Virgin Islands into a two-party system. The NDP appears to be negligent of the fact that it is a huge beneficiary of this two-party system. The VIP has never been under any illusion that it is a beneficiary of the party system. Consequently, its constitution and management understand that it must continue to evolve as an organization within the Virgin Islands two party eco-system.

The evidence of the preceding is simple: Virgin Islands Party politicians have enjoyed a degree of success in and outside of power unmatched by their rivals. In past years, the easiest way to become a member of the House of Assembly was to join the VIP. That is fact. A number of talented people would have been well entrenched politically had they joined the VIP in past years.

Finally, there is a belief that the Virgin Islands Party has understood and exercised power more skillfully than the rest. That is an assertion the voter alone can determine.