From Calderon To Lorne - Has Choiseul Been Played? Part 1

     The more things change the more they continue to stay the same - this is the talk on the lips of every Choiseul/Saltibus constituenst these days. With VAT eating away at their little and meagre savings it should not be surprising whatever they do next.

That been said, Choiseulians are the biggest enemies of themselves - chicken and rum and a never-to-accomplish-promise, works wonders on their minds during any 'Silly Season.'

   

JMD Bousquet

  Calderon came into politics on the basis of family ties and gave JMD Bousquet, a people's person, a licking. JMD never recovered from this shock...he soon died. Calderon's days was rough for Choiseulians because the UWP was in power and Calderon was SLP. That did not seem to bother Calderon one bit. He had that proud notion about him and repeatedly kept saying, "I am not going to beg Compton for anything."........check the mentality? He was never present in the constituency............Lorne may have adopted these genes from him............  the only time Choiseulinans would hear him is in the wee hours of New Year's Day...........for five years.......... when he used to wish the constituents a Happy New year over his mobile PA System.

Next elections Brian defeated Gregor Mason and Gilroy Satney in a three-cornered fight, after Calderon stood down, most likely through shame.  Gregor....SLP.......Gilroy......PLP.........Brian UWP. Brian won handsomely, though many critics thought he only pulled through because it was a three-pronged fight. Whatever, Brian won.

 He started his tenure with much enthusiasm and charisma. He quickly got the Leriche to Lapointe road paved and carried out a number of little projects here and there. (He got your humble servant a job at the Ministry of Sports as a Sports Officer, but I turned it down in favour of a teaching job which was already in the pipeline and I was suppose to start the Monday after the day I was offered the job) He traveled back and forth to Castries daily, during which he must have smashed about two or three vehicles.......sleep they say.

The young Rep began losing popularity with the people when he started, so it is rumoured, to spend more time at the deceased Lawrence St Ange's shop.......Lawrence was SLP....... and not enough time with his own. (The same fate that befell Rufus.......history in the making) Regardless of the warnings, Brian stood his ground. Cauldron got wind of this, came back next election and whooped Brian's but........Cauldron again!......the unpredictable people changing gears.

Cauldron won........UWP in power.......same old bag for Cauldron.......same old representation for the Choiseul people.........enter Rufus. How he got to Choiseul, I don't know......but he came on the scene feeling the people's pulse. People got to know that he is JMD Bousquet's son, and like wild fire his name and intentions spread across the constituency.

 

Henry Giraudy

   A year or two later,at a meeting with Giraudy and some party officials  upstairs Ms Agie's place Rufus was given the nod over Brian to contest the next election. Brian kicked hell, and his grudge against Rufus was evident in his refusal to support him (Rufus) throughout the campaign against Cauldron.

Rufus bousquet

    This was the father of elections, since the SLP supporters had it that Cauldron, nicknamed 'PIE' had never lost to anyone and dat he was going to give the young, handsome and eloquent Rufus a whooping. They were so wrong.......on this 1992 election night almost every constituent had bonfires with straw burning.....an indication that they are burn PIE...Cauldron's nickname and also the patois name for straw.............the phrase......'nous bweelay pie'.

    Rufus was voted out in 1997....not that he did not perform....but rather there was an island-wide move against the UWP government. They only won the Micoud North seat...Enter Ferguson John.

   

Kenny Anthony

 There was a major shake-up in the SLP with Kenny at the helm. Fergy, prior to 1997 had been called down from England...it is rumored that Imogene Mitchel, Compton Francois and company played a bid roll in convincing Fergy to come down to do battle against Rufus.

Critics of Fergy thought that Fergy did not win Rufus but rather Kenny. However Fergy still gave Rufus another licking in the 2001 elections. Fergy because of his mannerisms was

Ferguson John

 losing popularity among his very own supporters. He was never given a ministry and it was being rumored that he is not a fav of Kenny........school days issues they say. One strong supporter from Cafierre said, ' If Fergy were to be drowning and a collection was needed to save him, and if that collection needed one more cent to make the total to save Fergy, and I have  it, you can bet your money Fergy would drown..' This goes to show how much  Fergy was unpopular.

Tennyson Joseph

                 

  Kenny was taking no chances and replaced Fergy with Tennyson Joseph...a university graduate and lecturer. Fergy was kicked out through a run-off process. I stand corrected.

Well this hatred of Fergy must have spilled over to Tennyson  since it was clearly shown in 2006 when   Rufus beat him. This election was no joke, as tempers flew on both sides,.....enemies were created,qualifications were challenged, so too was personality, character and snippets of personal lives were on the front burner.....WOW.....after all was said and done, the people spoke. Rufus after ten years in the political wilderness was back in.

  Rufus' whole life in politics has been marred with controversy after controversy, and it appears to me that he never learns anything. Sometimes I wonder whether the man is daft or simply stupid......far from both.

   

Comton Giraudy Mallet

  Even before Rufus got in elective politics there was UN scandal looming over his head. During his first tenure Compton put a gag order on him which he refused to keep...subsequently he was fired and again during his last tenure.

Leaving all this history behind, Rufus proved to be a man for the poor working class. During his last tenure the Taiwanese funds in no small measure found itself into the pockets of Choiseulians......though his critics thought otherwise. A strong supporter of Lorne mentioned to me, 'Rufus is a good person, however it is the people that surrounded him that threw him away.' - strong words.

 Rufus was criticized for building footpaths, drains, walls and all this was coined as 'Ti Canal projects.' However these projects were well received by the people.....Rufus' mark can be seen in each and every community...his true legacy.

 During his last tenure, Rufus saw the arrival of Lorne to challenge him for the seat come next elections. Though Rufus was handing out projects left right and centre, many of his top men were, according to UWP supporters, giving the SLP supporters more work than them. This created much animosity.

   

Lorne Theophilus

The election campaign of 2006 saw a very sick Rufus being managed by a bunch of incompetent men and women, whose only aim was their self-fulfilment. Rufus's campaign was a mockery of what a campaign should be.....nuff halay karsay. The inclusion of Peter Reds Phillip on the campaign team was not well received by many strong supporters of the party.

Lorne gave Rufus a whooping by over 100 votes.

To be continued...............