The giant that was

Dr. Ralph Everard Gonsalves is a well-known political figure in the Caribbean region and to some extent the wider world. He is loved, emulated, and, in some instances, worshipped in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Gonsalves is a political giant, but it would appear that he is David in his own story. His refusal to step back from elective politics has operated as the slingshot by which he will knock himself down.

To speak clearly, the fall of Gonsalves from political grandeur has been slow in onset,  but it would appear that he is one slingshot (election) away from his political fall.

The symptoms started with the NDP obtaining the popular vote in the 2020 election, but like COVID-19 and cricket, it has spread to the region. The voice and the sway which Gonsalves once had is clearly a thing of the past. We see and hear echoes of the once political juggernaut, but they are just that, echoes, empty, the grasping at straws of a drowning man. 

Two recent regional incidents have cemented this opinion. 

Once Dr. Kishore Shallow candidacy for the opposition NDP was announced, it appeared as though Gonsalves no longer considered him as a favoured son of the soil.  

This fall from grace by Dr. Shallow did not remain in the political arena in St. Vincent and the Grenadines but managed to cross the ocean to other CARICOM countries and to the ears of other leaders. 

The result was the Caribbean and Vincentian public forming the opinion that there was a blatant attempt to cut down Shallow’s breadfruit tree as it relates to his involvement with Cricket West Indies. For a man of the people who often resorts to local parlance, Gonsalves aired his dirty laundry in public for all and sundry to see, and they did not like it.

Despite allegations of there being a conflict of interest between Shallow performing his role as president of Cricket West Indies and being a candidate for the opposition party, this opinion failed to sway relevant persons. 

Shallow was elected unopposed for a second term as president. 

Then, in a most disturbing turn of events, a letter allegedly penned by Gonsalves to the incoming chair of the OECS Monetary Council caused alarm throughout the region. It highlighted concerns in relation to the oversight of the Governor of the ECCB in relation to the alarming sums being expended on building premises for the Governor of the ECCB in his official capacity.

Surprisingly, there has been no response from the bank nor any substantial response from other regional leaders and members of the Monetary Council. It seems as if Gonsalves was left out alone to dry on the line, even by his closest comrades. Then again, it could just be a matter of people seeking to clean their own backyard first, starting with leaving other people’s ships to sink alone.

Years gone by, Gonsalves was a mammoth in the region. Later in his career he was seen as the griot of the Caribbean civilisation, a depositary of wisdom and knowledge. Now he, by overstaying his political welcome, is being viewed as the grandfather who refuses to go to bed even though he is falling asleep in front of the TV, on a good day, and on a bad day, that uncle who just would not go home.

In a truly disappointing turn of events, the indomitable Dr Ralph Everard Gonsalves has become the giant that was.

S. Smith

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