Where have all the politicians gone, long time passing?

Where have all the politicians gone, not too long ago?

Where have all the politicians gone?

Made mistakes and had to form coalitions

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?

Apologies to Pete Seeger

So the British Prime Minister Theresa May follows British Premier Alden McLaughlin and has had to form a Coalition Government.

Both May and McLaughlin brought it largely on their selves with decisions that seemed OK at the time but have come back to haunt them.

In politics nothing is safe.

That lesson should have been learnt long time ago. So when will they ever learn?

If you add in the former British Prime Minister David Cameron’s disastrous BritExit referendum that he didn’t have to call but did because he was positive he would win and Britain would remain in the EU, it makes one wonder why May did what she did?

Alden McLaughlin needn’t have put his #1 minister (now ex-minster) Marco Archer up against the strongest Independent running in last May’s Cayman election, Kenneth Bryan. Bryan had been campaigning for over a year and had the financial backing as well as the influence of Dr. Steve Tomlinson. Dr Tomlinson had been there and done it successfully for himself some years ago.

To play it safe you put your weakest person up against the strongest – the one you can afford to lose. McLaughlin didn’t heed that advice.

May had a majority in the British government of seventeen. She had been newly elected to the position of Prime Minister. Most of the country had never seen her up close. She was gambling her majority position for what? To MAYBE get a few more seats to help her with her negotiations in Brussels to exit the EU.

She looked at the Opinion Polls. Now how stupid that was. They haven’t exactly had their finest hours both in Britain and in the USA.

And the British public then found out the personality of May. They didn’t like the Labour leader but soon discovered the Tory/Conservative PM/leader was even worse.

In politics you MUST play it safe. Why gamble when you are winning?

The Newlands lost seat (Wayne Panton to Alva Suckoo) could also had been avoided if Panton had played Suckoo at his own game. The church and the LGBTQ stance. Panton decided to leave it alone whilst Suckoo played it up for all his worth. And whilst Panton was working for his country going abroad and putting out fires, Suckoo was campaigning.

In politics, to a voter, it’s not what you have done for your country it’s what you may do for me. Keep promising, keep promising, keep promising, and in time it will be believed.

McLaughlin, Archer and Panton were offered help and all three didn’t take it up. The help from people who had been there, and done it, and one a Caymanian well respected in the community and also with all the Christian brethren.

The other person grew up with the One Man One Vote system and had played in the English political minefield before coming here to Cayman.

Other advice was taken instead.

And the big advice given was ‘play it safe’.

When Theresa May decided to go into the minefield as a complete novice one can really not blame Alden McLaughlin.

So now all the flowers have gone.

When will they ever learn?

When will they ever learn?