Barring unforeseen circumstances – and we live in times when these are occurring more frequently than usual, even at times seemingly coming from nowhere -, we are some time away from the next ‘great day of reckoning’, scheduled for end of next year, or early 2025 at latest according to existing legislations. Unless the Tsar decides otherwise, or circumstances dictate otherwise.
Nevertheless, ‘l’Alliance de l’Espoir» is reportedly already firmly constituted as attested by the ‘lalians pa pou kase’ revealed during the first outing in the South some diehards pretend to be only ‘enn reklam’. While manifestly there must remain some details to be fine-tuned, which possibly may not constitute ‘ce petit grain de sable…’ At the same time so pressing the determination to oust the incumbents before they irreversibly destroy the country, as ‘they’ claim, there will be instances of ‘pez nene bwar dilwil’, the inevitable sacrifices/concessions, possibly not too bitter to swallow, but so vital to attain the ‘main objective’. What comes after will be another story.
‘En politique…’
But with months to go to the next General Elections there may possibly be – and it will not be peremptory, basing on past occurrences and likely major developments ahead, to say ‘there will be’ – stunning plot twists on the local political scene, even if we were to make total abstraction of extraneous influences*. We have often heard ‘en politique un jour est très long’. And what of months?
One thing that stands out, and with the possibility of sending everything back to the drawing board, is that Ramgoolam is headed for a very tough legal battle relating to the (ill)famous coffers. Some say ‘ena move blese ladan’. Let us imagine one of the consequences of the final outcome of this legal battle is the disqualification of Ramgoolam to stand as a candidate for the next General Elections, still less the one to lead the Alliance. Will the Alliance still stand, with the Labour Party, as locomotive, having to choose another one to lead the onslaught? Should this be the case, ‘bonjour les dégats!!! It will be daft to believe that such change will be a mere formality. Another one with the ‘right profile,’ acceptable to their traditional followers and the other partners in the Alliance. This is not a football match; the centre forward is injured, the trainer calls another one from the bench to substitute! If ever this eventuality arises, it should be enough to put the Labour Party in a situation that could seriously affect its credentials to be locomotive, enough to bury ‘l’Alliance’ almost as a still-born, however much the electorate would have been urged to stand behind them through the regional congresses, the latter disintegrated, whatever momentum they had gathered by then, torn to pieces. And a cause for the Tsar to throw a hell of a party, assuming that by any such time ‘li mem li pa dan dife’. And this is a likely possibility no one is considering. And what if an unfavourable Court decision comes after ‘l’Espoir’ has already won the bout and already reigning. A reason for this affair to be fast-track? But let us not speculate overmuch. 
On paper ‘l’Alliance de l’Espoir’ appears unbeatable, assuming Ramgoolam escapes scot free from what awaits him on the legal front. While the ‘Leader historique’ is no longer the king-maker he used to be, aware he is engaged in his last major battle after his failed shot at redemption going solo the last time and conscious he can no longer play the trouble-maker, the days when he sowed his wild oats, almost a constant of his earlier political career, way behind. The leader of the PMSD is easy to read, unlikely to misbehave to spoil the party and capable to add successfully his ‘five cents’ to round the rupee, and having the merits to have compelled the MMM to accept him as a full-fledged ally in the great battle to come. And very well at ease in this latest arrangement he who is used to ‘dance to any tune’. And it remains the rampant desire that cuts across the electorate to get rid of the ruling incumbents – albeit possibly matched by misgivings to have Ramgoolam back at the elm – who have suffocated the whole island, as it were, by their abusive and disruptive rule for years running, crossing the red line at will, or turning a blind eye on the misdemeanors of their sidekicks nominated in key positions as is the case with an issue that is hitting the headlines these days; right-minded persons may hardly imagine it can be worse. There is enough, indeed overwhelming evidence we are in a quasi-dictatorship.
Nevertheless, a more in-depth analysis reminds that Ramgoolam was defeated in two previous successive elections, in two different constituencies. This added to the ‘coffers’ issue raise serious interrogations likely to ‘faire tiquer’ a large chunk of the electorate, however much they may pray to have the present incumbents booted out of power. Having Ramgoolam back at the helm, in their view, would be tantamount to ‘sap dan pwalon tomb dan dife’, resulting in massive abstentions to impact significantly the results of the elections. And the ‘Ramgoolam pe rod pouvwar par vanzans ek pou ranpli so kof’ could be some sort of bull’s eye that gives second thoughts. Yet, I concede that rampant desire to ‘b.. zot deor’ may have the edge, albeit another case of ‘pez nene, bwar dilwil’. And not to write off the proponents of ‘ni Navin, ni Pravind’ if only for their ‘nuisance value’! And, at the risk of repeating myself, the Tsar has no other option that to retain power, ‘whatever it takes’! Losing may be for him a ‘descente aux enfers’. Yet he has not said his last word. Days before the 1977 General Elections we had ‘free education’, in 2005 ‘free transport’, beefed-up BRP in 2014 and ‘rebeefed-up’ in 2019, the result of outbidding between the two main contenders, invariable decisions reached almost overnight, only to be re-elected, whatever the impact on the economy, both short and long term. What does the Tsar has in store in ‘Rajapaksa Clique’ style this time for us? What may come out of the shadowy depths of ‘lakwizinn’? Furthermore, it appears the manoeuvres have already started to restrain the challengers by every possible means, using in the process whatever means available, principally the ‘usual kowtowers’, as we are already witnessing. ‘C’est de bonne guerre’?
‘Pa zis dan Moris’
The purpose of this note has nothing to do with partisan politics, but to remind, once more, that we are headed for much agitations, on various fronts, added to stunning events and happenings, ‘pa zis dan Moris’, enough to shift the spotlight away from unprecedented events that lie ahead, highlighted by forerunner signs that cannot lie, events of another dimension, of divine origin, to liberate humanity from the claws of the reigning overlords, indeed big guns of every stamp, ‘equalizing the more equal’! And the reader of this column will surely understand I am, once more, targeting ‘human rulership’, under whatever form it exists, the real source of most of humanity’s major woes!
Yet total indifference around, understandably so given the woes that are befalling us, leaves nothing more than to sit back, saddeningly so, and ‘manz pistas, get sinema’. And ‘sinema’ there will be. Attendons voir!
And I’ll conclude on a note that stay stun, even expose me to ridicule. All these agitations to grab power, here and elsewhere, ‘dan vid’. It’s way too late, as we will soon see! Even God will laugh:
Why are the nations agitated and the people muttering an empty thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and high officials gather together as one against the Almighty and his anointed one. They say let us tear off their shackles and throw off their ropes. The One enthroned in the heavens will laugh; God will scoff at them. (Psalm 2, verses 1 to 5)
(*The regular reader will easily understand without my having to be more specific for obvious reasons)
Endy Jay
P.S. The actual attempts to deny l’Espoir’ ‘appropriate venues’ for their congresses can only backfire. If the silent majority decide to vote, it is no brainer to determine for whom the overwhelming majority will!
What does the Tsar has in store in ‘Rajapaksa Clique’ style this time for us? What may come out of the shadowy depths of ‘lakwizinn’? Furthermore, it appears the manoeuvres have already started to restrain the challengers by every possible means