When Academia joins Politics !
Back in May 2019, when Professor Bunwaree joined the MMM, I had commented on this move from to As my readers will see , i somewhat anticipated her present “critiques acerbes à l'encontre du parti et de ses dirigeants, tout en soulevant des questions cruciales sur l'état de la démocratie à Maurice.”
“…..among the intellectuals who denounce all forms of injustice - and obeying to some kind of call to join the political fray to transform the human condition and think of the greater good, Sheila Bunwaree emerges from the lot as a politician with new ideas and the guts to see them through, imbued as she is with the enthusiasm and the naivety of the new adherent.
Prof Bunwaree, who has been for years in the sole company of the academics before creating her own ‘Parti Justice Sociale’, comes from a milieu that does not usually give rise to good politicians, given the politics of the mainstream parties.
"Such political candidates from the academia tend to have strong convictions, but are often abstract and not good at the realpolitik that day-to-day politics imposes. Politics is about compromise and our dear Professor cannot afford to compromise on principles, philosophical position, intellectual insights, and/or scientific truths. Most of them cannot afford to lose credibility by changing their stance. Our Professor cannot deny that her brief stint with Muvma Liberater does tend to prove the point.
As regards her position on smart cities, the incestuous relationship between government and big business, the small planters, IPPs and the energy sector, the fishing community, the environment, etc., one can easily see that she would have been more at ease in a leftist or eco-socialist party like Rezistans ek Alternativ or Lalit.
Being a fervent new adherent, with the right baggage stuffed with the Pickettys, Sens, Saids and Chomskys of the contemporary world, she is being sent to the forefront - the barricades - to reconnect with an increasingly dismissive public."
What is unfortunate and unacceptable is that …, these mainstream political parties not only let us down, but connive with the unaccountable elite having its own agenda and vested interests to smother our calls and attempts for change. Finally they turn out to be more of the same – the same arrogance, the same me-know-everything attitude, the same cronyism, same lack of boldness and newness in reforms and policy initiatives (like their recent 20 Measures…).
"It usually does not take long for such enthusiastic reformers like Prof Bunwaree to see their ideals battered by the realities of politics and to realise how quickly the mainstream parties jettison the all-too-common hermetic language of academia in favour of the potent slogans that appeal to the gut, not the head."
Yes, Professor, these mainstream political parties constantly disappoint us and we tend to lose faith in all parties, and ultimately in democracy and in “vrai chanzman".
Prak Nee
The case of Sheila Bunwaree is typical of mainstream parties that sacrifice their “best” elements on the altar of political alliance or electoral calculations. We see this in other countries also. For example, in the UK, the Labour Party got rid of its leftist or socialist members. Jeremy Corbyn, ex leader, was pushed out but he got reelected as an independent MP at elections on July 4th. In the U.S., the Democratic Party is purging all its leftist Congress representatives who oppose the war on Gaza by getting them defeated at primary elections by pro-Israel candidates ( latest example is leftist Cory Bush). In Maurice, mainstream parties have gotten rid of members who are independent-minded or are seen as political mavericks. In 2010, the Labour Party sacrificed Sithanen to please its ally MSM. Although I don’t share many of his views or policies, I recognize Sithanen’s intellectual skills. In 2014, the MMM sacrificed its MP KC Li Kwong Wing to please its ally Labour. People will now say that Sheila left because she did not get a ticket for elections. But who deserves a ticket more than her: Toulouse, Navarre or Jeetun? She has published insightful analyses of public issues which show deep thinking and a concern for democracy. If such persons have no place in a mainstream party, I wonder what is left of responsible politics.
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Nand Ghurburrun
Why has MMM lost 90% of its believers ?
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Rattan Chand
Nand Ghurburrun Because it has become a victim of the very ills that it was supposed to fight and eradicate !
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Nalini Burn
Maybe her sad predicament is that she actually joined in the first place- she might remember our discussions not so long ago, who knows-. And much worse, that she actually left when she did. Tying it to gagn tiket - and duly perceived as such. Not many, with this timing will.attribute it to ideological positions.
Missing the opportunity to draw attention to our so-called development model and its unfolding impacts over the last decades.
The sad state of affairs in our electoral politics culture is that there is often a lack of fit between being more electable and being a good minister.
At one level populism and policy doesn't nurture each other. But also being grounded, such that it resonates with a broad electorate is what more organic, in touch "intellectuals" should more consistently be. Ek ecrire anglais pas aider ladan...
And the sad state of affairs in our institutional set up is its sheer poverty as far as policy is concerned. The policy council could be a powerful driver of change in and also out of office And heading it a powerful.position as change agent in parties and for working with and through other institutions. One does not necessarily have to hold office...
But look at the sheer discretionary power of ministers, written into legislation. That too weighs in to become a minister. If a despotic PM with even more powers allows a collegial leadership. We are closer to an electoral dictatorship. Caught in a deeply venal sticky clientelist web of a political- economic system.
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