In a significant political realignment, Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) leader Watson Duke has announced his party’s withdrawal from the upcoming January 12 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections, opting instead to endorse the ruling Tobago People’s Party (TPP). The declaration came during a spirited media conference outside Duke’s Port Mall office in Scarborough on December 8, where he was flanked by vocal supporters.
While confirming the strategic shift, Duke maintained characteristic ambiguity regarding formal candidate nominations. He acknowledged the diminished influence of his party’s flambeaux symbol while artfully dodging direct questions about fielding candidates. His 20-minute address blended political rhetoric with biblical references and personal parables, creating a theatrical atmosphere underscored by enthusiastic supporter responses.
The political reconciliation stems from a pivotal phone conversation with TPP leader and Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, whom Duke alternately referred to as ‘son’ and ‘brother’ throughout his address. Duke revealed that this discussion prompted profound reflection about preventing the People’s National Movement (PNM) from returning to power. ‘I slept on it, I rolled on it, I prayed on it,’ Duke declared, emphasizing familial loyalty over political分歧.
Despite acknowledging the ‘hurt and pain’ from previous betrayals when PDP assemblymen defected to form the TPP under Augustine’s leadership, Duke pledged forgiveness while vowing to remember these experiences. He positioned himself as continuing to ‘stand in defense of the defenseless’ and encouraged supporters to maintain their identity as ‘the salt of the earth’—invoking Matthew 5:13 to underscore their enduring value.
The PDP leader outlined an aggressive campaign strategy to secure all 15 seats for the TPP, promising to reach ‘the highways and byways, the nooks and crannies’ to mobilize marginalized voters. When pressed for explicit voting instructions, Duke challenged journalists to ‘write the headlines yourselves,’ maintaining his theatrical delivery while making the endorsement unmistakably clear.
Duke framed the alliance as resuming a shared dream that had temporarily derailed, comparing it to waking from an incomplete dream and choosing to return to it. ‘Family is family,’ he asserted, acknowledging Augustine’s flaws while emphasizing tribal loyalty. He concluded with a colorful promise to defeat the PNM ‘black until they blue,’ referencing the parties’ respective colors.