ST GEORGE’S, Grenada — Former Prime Minister Tillman Thomas has a warning for Grenadians.
He wants them to beware of the politics of the New National Party (NNP), which defeated Thomas’ incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC) 15 – 0 in general elections on February 19.
“Not because the NNP won a majority, that is not an indication that they are on the right track,” Thomas said. “We respect the democratic process and we respect the majority in the country. But, at the same time, that doesn’t mean it is right.”
According to Thomas, Grenadians should not “surrender our values and our morality to the NNP brand of politics. It’s not the healthiest thing for Grenada; I maintain this and I’m very strong on this”.
Many have been speculating on Thomas’ political future since his failure to hold his government together during its tenure that began in July 2008 and ended with February’s whitewash that included Thomas losing his own St Patrick East constituency.
The party’s leadership is likely to be on the agenda of the 2013 annual convention of the NDC.
Last year’s convention was held September 30 when 10 senior members, including then general secretary Peter David and acting chairman Stanford Simon, were expelled from the party.
For now, the plan of the NDC is to “regroup, to increase the membership, to sensitize our people as to the importance of politics” and to build a “strong” party political organization, Thomas said.
The party’s role, he added, is also to “show the right way” and “let our people know that respect for institution is important”.
“We cannot just be doing things for political expediency,” said Thomas. “We need to respect people and we need to promote people based on merit, not on politics and loyalty and that is what the NNP is all about.