A Hand so Badly Played...

According to Kenny Rogers in 'The Gambler' - “You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” For all he did wrong this was clearly something that Anil Roberts understood that Anand Ramlogan doest not seem to. That there comes a time in the play when you realize the game is over, and you take your winnings and walk. Instead, embattled in the position and losing ground by the minute, the outgoing Attorney General is holding on with all his might, attempting to discredit and damage anyone who he perceives as the enemy, and he and his minions have taken to social media to discredit both the Minister of Legal Affairs and the Minister of National Security for standing on the principle that, ironically, had he had, we would not be where we are right now.

In all of this the one thing I find inescapable is, as allegations go, this one is so lightweight it should never have been able to pull such an accomplished Attorney General low, so how did it? How did such a 'your word against mine' accusation become fact so fast and galvanize a population so completely that all they want to see is the back of you? What did you do? Well if one were to look at the actions of the few Anand loyalists still under his direction, you might get an understanding as to why this man has become so universally hated if not despised. The message seems to be scorch the earth in a bid to save their leader, without stopping to realize that, without a government to belong to, the efforts would be for nought.

In what could only be described as the Opposition's wildest dream coming true, Anand Ramlogan is doing or attempting to do what they never could, and that is destroy the United National Congress and the People's Partnership Government from within.

And much like the situation she faced when she was left with no choice but to fire Jack Warner, the Prime Minister has to be aware that her Attorney General is now tearing her government apart and she needs to take action.

Did he do it? At this point the only people who know for sure are David West the accuser, and Anand Ramlogan the accused. Not even National Security Minister Gary Griffith, duped by the AG to carry a message of enquiry into a matter whose contents he was unaware and can only verify that the AG was asking 'something' of David West knows for sure, and yet the public is not interested in any further evidence to arrive at their decision. They want nothing to do with this Attorney General and will rout this government and fire all to rid themselves of him.

To Anand Ramlogan every hand seems to be an 'all in' bet and every disagreement a disrespect and the Prime Minister may not be able to rely on him to do the right and honorable thing in these circumstances.

She may be left with no choice. Even if he (Anand) were to successfully survive being removed from office at this juncture the government may end up unelectable come elections time. The momentum against him could well end up collapsing everything so many hard working people have worked so hard to build as the determined electorate insists on having its democratic say.

Yes the opposition PNM has this government in its sights as that is their one role in our Westminster system of government, but they themselves are too weak and mistrusted to have galvanized this much support. This was all Anand, ultimately it is his own hubris that brought him here, and like David Abdulah and his fledgling MSJ and the one man party Fixin' T&T, they are all trying to ride the crest of the wave claiming a victory in which they had no part, testing the analogy that the crowing rooster causes the sun to rise.

The only person with a stronger hand in this particular gamble is the Prime Minister of the Republic, and she must know by now that every minute that she appears indecisive over this she risks costing herself the respect of the very people she is going to have to turn to in a few short months to put her back in office.

Or to again quote Kenny - “Every gambler knows that the secret to surviving is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep”

Madame Prime Minister, your play...