Dear Editor,

The current Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has me wondering what they are about. From one slapdash attempt to get attention to another, they are just champing at the bit for attention — any attention.

I have always felt that the PNP was not really interested in pushing the nation to get vaccinated and the events of the past week have borne out that feeling out. The PNP has come out strongly against mandatory vaccination, even as the nation’s vaccination campaign has hit the brick wall of vaccine denial and hesitancy — better termed vaccine idiocy in my view.

That dissonance at a time when everybody in the political arena needs to be singing from the same hymn book is quite frightening. And the rather spurious claims, even at times spouting anti-vax talking points to make their case against mandatory vaccination, were even more frightening.

Many, like me, were gobsmacked by PNP President Mark Golding’s utterances at a recently held press conference called by the party. But, why are we surprised? The PNP has been in turmoil, becoming increasingly redundant over the years, especially since the last two general elections. It has been hammered by internal divisions, and it seems its members are perpetually at war with each other. All of these things and much more have made them resort to an old strategy enunciated by Robert Pickersgill: “We believe that it is best for the People’s National Party to form the Government; therefore, anything that will lead or cause us to be in power is best for the PNP and best for the country.” Those words have been translated into a wholesale embrace of everything that they believe will get them into power, whether it is in the best interest of the country or not.

COVID-19 vaccination issues are no different. They have seen polls that say people are against it so they have come out against it. Rather than doing what is in the nation’s best interest, they have chosen instead to go down the path of political expedience. But, to what end? Power, of course. Or what they think will get them into power.

It’s sad that politics has reared its ugly head to take over such an important issue. We must condemn any action that puts the recovery of the nation at risk.

Then, to add even more confusion to the PNP’s utterances, at the same meeting they were calling for the resumption of face-to-face school. I wonder, can that be achieved without a well-vaccinated public?

But, alas, the PNP has had the habit of putting politics before the national good.

Fabian Lewis

tyronelewis272@gmail.com