Blog: The Prostitution of Politics

Never in the history of Mauritius have we witnessed such a prostitution of politics. Recent events have shown that the MMM leader is obsessed and guided by one sole consideration and that is power and the seat of Prime Minister. When the MSM abandoned the government it ran into the arms of Paul Bérenger who gladly welcomed that move.

The idea of becoming Prime Minister again with the help of the MSM diluted in the mind of Paul Bérenger the “bombe communale” that Sir Anerood Jugnauth represented and the fact that Pravind Jugnauth was a “cretin” who knew nothing about finance and economy. Then using the alleged move of Maya Hanoomanjee to embarrass Alan Ganoo through a parliamentary question, the meeting of Showkutally Soodhun with Xavier Duval as well as the electoral reforms as a springboard he started negotiations with Navin Ramgoolam.

Whether only electoral reforms or a possible political alliance was discussed we will not know but speculations ran high and almost every observer saw the game being played behind closed doors. Then all of a sudden, Paul Bérenger left the Labour bed and is trying to move back to the MSM bed that he had left earlier to cool off. Maybe that bed was too hot for him!

No doubt that this kind of attitude causes people to be fed up with politics. The MMM has been in alliance with the PSM in 1982 and that did not work out. It was in alliance with the MSM in 1991 and that marriage fizzled out because at the time Paul Bérenger was attempting a political adultery with Navin Ramgoolam much to the anger of Sir Anerood Jugnauth.

The MMM was in alliance with the MSM both in 2000 and 2005. The marriage worked in 2000 as it gave birth to the dream of Paul Bérenger to become prime minister. The same alliance was routed by Labour in 2005 and since then Paul Bérenger has realized that there are only two politicians who can clinch victory for him: SAJ or Navin Ramgoolam. This has been his game since the unexpected defeat of 2005 which even saw Pravind Jugnauth biting the dust against a strong Arvin Boolell in constituency no.11.

The MMM is a one man show just like the MSM. In the MMM Paul Bérenger runs the show and SAJ performs that role in the MSM. No member of either of these parties will ever or has ever been able to question or |reverse a decision of its leader and those who did not agree had to go or were expelled.

If Paul Bérenger says an alliance with the MSM is beneficial for the MMM all his stooges will blindly follow suit. If the next day he says the MMM should go with Labour the same stooges will readily agree. The same goes for the MSM. For how long then will the electorate tolerate politicians who cannot have the courage to stand up to their leader and say NO? And these are the same people who will no doubt blindly follow all Cabinet decisions if ever they are in government.

When we look at the manoeuvres of the MMM and the MSM we cannot escape the sad but realistic conclusion that these two opposition parties, especially SAJ, are engaged in a battle of vendetta against Navin Ramgoolam. The latter is pouring his venom on Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the man who saved his political career in 1983, and on Navin Ramgoolam. To achieve their fathomless ambition they would prostitute politics again as they have done before.

The MMM has lost a golden opportunity of making history through the electoral reforms. The zeal of Paul Bérenger to reform the electoral process when he was in the 2000 MMM/MSM government was dampened by the MSM and Paul Bérenger complied because personal ambition was more important than the electoral reforms. He is making the same mistake again.

And we are asked for our votes to help perpetuate the prostitution of politics at the hands of these people!