On His Way Back?

On Sunday, the St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) held its annual convention – a successful exercise from which almost every element of surprise had been extracted from the time that the announcement had been made that its political leader, Dr. Kenny Anthony, was to be re elected unopposed.
With the unexpectedness that sometimes characterizes the game of politics, the focus of interest at these outings by either party has shifted, ever since they have adopted the formula of announcing the nominations for the executive positions one, two or three weeks – perhaps even as much as a month – in advance, from the date of the actual convention to the nomination day, after which most of the suspense and interest has been wrung out of the proceedings, to the function at which the nominations are announced.
With all of the speculation that had been making the rounds therefore, public interest this past Sunday was undoubtedly more focussed on what was to occur at the United Workers Party (UWP) conference of delegates in Canaries, than the goings on in the camp of the SLP in Augier.
However, to some extent, even the level of speculative interest in what was happening in Canaries had diminished, with the issuing of a statement on Friday by Richard Frederick, the Central Castries representative, that he would throw his support behind the candidacy of Stephenson King for the leadership position.
Since Frederick had been perceived as the main contender for the position – with Rufus Bousquet, the only other possible protagonist, not appearing to have pursued any appreciative effort to garner support for his candidacy, the element of suspense – or surprise of any sort – was eliminated from the day’s outing.

Or so we thought.
Before the day was out, a resolution was put forward by the delegates, requesting that Rufus Bousquet be returned to Ministerial office, within the fold of government. That resolution is slated to be debated at the convention on March 9th at the Castries Comprehensive Secondary school.
Think what you will, Rufus Bousquet is a political figure who seems to have perfected the art of attracting publicity and interest in almost everything he does … and once again, at this time, he has succeeded in doing just that.
Whether the resolution came about because of the desire of UWP members to see every element within the hierarchy settled and an air of stability restored to the embattled party; whether – as some speculate – it comes as the result of a deal made between Bousquet and King in order to ensure that no more boats are rocked at this delicate and sensitive period in the government party’s fortunes; whether it is simply a recognition that, despite his many fallings-out with public opinion, Bousquet has an amount of intelligence and talent that makes his contribution to the process too valuable to be cast aside … the fact remains that he has once more found the means to focus attention on himself – so much so that he may very well be the central starring figure come March 9th and the party’s convention.
And to some extent, is that quality not one of the attributes that contribute to the making of an astute and successful politician?
Yesterday’s session may very well be the first stone in the re-emergence of Rufus Bousquet … the Comeback Kid.