By CECILY ASSON Wednesday, August 5 2009

The creation of a “political Frankenstein” is how Chaguanas East MP Mustapha Abdul-Hamid referred to various opposition political parties, past and present, which merged with each other to “mash up” the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM).

Abdul-Hamid, the Public Utilities Minister, was at the time addressing party supporters who braved the rainy weather on Monday night to be at Centre City Mall, Chaguanas for another PNM public meeting on local government reform.

Abdul-Hamid described former political parties such as the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Workers and Farmers Party (WFP), Organisation of National Reconstruction (ONR), National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), Club 88 and United National Congress (UNC), “as evil stitched to evil, stitched to evil, stitched to evil that will only create a greater evil unit.”

The intermittent rain failed to dampen the spirit of the balisier-waving supporters who came out in large numbers to hear Prime Minister Patrick Manning continue his political education meetings.

The supporters came prepared with umbrellas, some occupied white chairs, others stood, while some sought shelter under tents as “the gospel according to the PNM” was being delivered.

The atmosphere was reminiscent of the last general election campaign but Manning advised his ardent listeners that Monday night was not a signal of a pending election, although he teased that one “will come like a thief in the night.” Abdul-Hamid got supporters into “election mood” when he began pelting jabs at his opponents who he accused of only being able to “mash up” political parties.

Delving into the past, Abdul-Hamid chronicled the history of Opposition parties from the 50s to the present.

He said, “It was in the 1950s there were three political parties, all of them were fused into one called the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). And do you know what happened to that Democratic Labour Party? They mash up that.”

According to him, opposition politicians then took pieces of the DLP and formed another party and “they mash up that.”

The crowd joined in the chorus of “they mash up that too,” when he spoke of the WFP in 1966, the ULF in 1976, the ONR in 1981, the NAR in 1986, and Club 88 in 1988.

“In 1991, United National Congress, and as we speak they are in the process of mashing up that too. But I tell you there are two things they cannot mash up, they cannot mash up the integrity and the solidarity of the people of Trinidad and Tobago and they cannot mash up the People’s National Movement.

Abdul-Hamid said the opposition politicians will soon be coming around again to say that they are united.

“They will bring something. They will join United National Congress with the COP and join it with the MND and join it with the CAP and join it with anything else.

They will create what we will call a political Frankenstein.”

Manning also heckled the Opposition parties saying that they had to stay indoors because their supporters only came “in two maxi taxis.”