People’s National Movement (PNM) candidate Fitzgerald Hinds wasted no time at Tuesday’s Morvant meeting educating audiences with his new definition of “Third” which in his esteem lay well below nether regions. He told the crowd that preceding speaker Camille Robinson-Regis, in speaking about the new Third Force Movement (TFM), had employed a prim, proper pronunciation of the word “Th-ird.”
His own take, he said: “...Tu-rd.” PNMites didn’t get it for a milli-second. Until he gleefully added, that “that (turd) according to the Oxford dictionary is a pile of excrement.” Howls, hoots and a general falling about with derisive crowd laughter. That was the response as Hinds, plus PNM deputy leader Marlene McDonald and the party’s political leader Dr Keith Rowley, dealt with the TFM. The latter two less graphically but no less harshly.
PNMites had gathered on a strip alongside the Lady Young Road, Morvant. There was no sign of outgoing Laventille MPs Donna Cox and Nileung Hypolite. Chairs were full. People milled in clusters, closer stageside. Many wore jerseys of other constituencies. A green band maxi was parked at back with other vehicles. Two men in San Fernando East and PNM Princes Town jerseys hawked nuts. One urged loudly: “Buy some nuts from the PNM nutsman.”
The “second Rastaman in the PNM” (dubbed as such by Robinson-Regis) Laventille East candidate Adrian Leonce, in a laid back accent, expressed pride at his self-admitted “ghetto roots,” proclaiming ‘who fix Laventille, fix T&T, let’s forward ever.” His predecessor of “PNM Rastafarian” ilk, Hinds, was less laid back when it came to the People’s Partnership and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
It was clear what Hinds’ pronouncements would be following his energetic grimacing expression of vehemence when preceding speaker McDonald demanded: “What is Kamla’s track record?” McDonald called out TFM’s Timothy Hamel-Smith: “...Since when he care ‘bout the poor and downtrodden of Laventille, Beetham, Duncan Street and Sea Lots?”
She predicted the election would be the nastiest ever. Hinds who said Leonce was “better looking than me” revealed his targets immediately as he took the podium: “I make no apology – I come for political war.” Hitting the PM’s complaint over his recent “alligator” jab, he also said “maybe she doh like the word ‘alligator’... but a friend gave me a beautiful alligator skin wallet and ladies have shoes, handbags and belts. I shoulda say zanjee.”
On TFM’s Hamel-Smith, he opined: “...squeaky little church mouse with mustache, now all of a sudden he want to form party.” Next came the “Tu-rd” definition followed a reminder to listeners of constipation “forcing” and his view that the United National Congress (UNC) is the “first Force” Congress of the People (COP)/PP, the second, and the TFM was the “third force... I think their symbol should be Hamel-Smith on a cesspit in Westmoorings with a Flit gun killing all the cockroaches... Who do they think they’re fooling?”
All manner of corresponding vitriolic crowd responses arose as he trashed the PM and the same occurred when Rowley waded into Hamel-Smith. “Birds of a feather flock together, he was UNC’s point man on the procurement committee, he’s forming a party to help the UNC.” “T&T is now being governed by colours... Colour Me Orange programmes... but they staying far from Grey Goose, eh.”