It was November 2016; The PNM had just won an election and was on the rise. At a conference hosted by the government and the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Colm Imbert explained why he increased fuel prices. He boasted: “I increased the price of fuel by 15 percent, but then I realized that this was not enough. I came back in April and raised it another 15%, and a few weeks ago I came back and raised it another 15%. “They haven’t rebelled yet.” (Cycle News, November 9, 2016.)

After about a day, Imbert dropped his insult. Speaking on a motion to confirm the collection of the provisional tax order, he said: “Having looked at the tape of the comments I made and the manner in which I made them, I understand that this will upset a lot of people and so I take the opportunity to apologize unreservedly to anyone affected. (Express, November 8, 2016.) The Express reporter called it “a rare act of contrition.”

Last week, “an angry crowd of flood survivors in Spain attacked King Henry VI of Spain, who made their first visit to one of the worst-hit towns yesterday. He slandered and insulted Felipe and government officials. In Paiporta, a dilapidated outskirt of the city of Valencia, the monarch was escorted by government officials as he attempted to speak to locals while others shouted at him…

“The police had to intervene with officers on horseback to keep the crowd of dozens of people back.

“‘Get out! Get out!’ and ‘Murderers!’ rang out among other insults, and guards held up umbrellas to protect royals and officials as the protesters departed.” (Guardian, October 4.)

The message was clear: “Down with the King.”

Similar events are taking place in Africa, where the parties that took the struggle for independence away from Europe feel the anger of their people. In May 2024, the African National Congress, the national liberation group that led South Africa to independence, lost the parliamentary majority it had held since 1994. He received 40% of the votes. As a result of this development, a coalition government was formed with the Democratic Alliance (DA), led by whites, which received 21.63% of the votes.

DA leader John Steenhuisen said: “The DA will no longer just be a national opposition party; instead, the DA now becomes the second largest party in a multi-party national government” (VOA News, June 14, 2024.)

In 2015, Trinbagonians voted into government a party they felt respected the rights of individual citizens. The first thing he did was disrespect his citizens. The converse of Imbert’s statement I quoted above could have been: “If you had any guts (he could have used another word starting with ‘b’), you would have rioted from the moment I first increased fuel prices.” He survived this.

Eight years later, he insulted the Auditor General, an office created by the Constitution. Anyone who followed the live coverage of the case (“Dhoray v The AG”) through the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council saw how the lords disdained Douglas Mendes, SC, representing the Government.

Tribunal member Lady Simler asked Mendes, representing the Minister of Finance and the Government, the following question: “If the investigation is in good faith, why is the other party (Minister of Finance) not being investigated?” The Express put it this way: “Why isn’t the conduct of Finance Minister Colm Imbert also being investigated over the $2.5 billion understatement in this country’s 2023 public financial records?” The Auditor General did not even need to present his case. He had no case to defend.

In his opening submission to the Privy Court, Mendes stressed he needed to deliver a “knockout blow” against the T&T Court of Appeal’s decision. The last words of Lord Hodge, president of the Privy Council, were: “You said you had to deliver a knockout blow. This was not done. The Supreme Court’s decision stands.”

Here were five white people sitting in London as the court of last appeal for black and brown people in T&T, overextending themselves to be polite to a Government that paid little attention to its black and brown citizens or civil servants. The Court rejected a knockout blow to one of our Government’s constitutional officers.

A distinguished member of the bar told me: “It’s a bad day for the government; “It’s a shameful day for its citizens.”

I reminded him: “Pride comes before a fall.”

This case, and Imbert’s outburst in 2016, shows that arrogance rather than pride may be one of the reasons why this Government may eventually collapse.

—Prof Cudjoe’s email address is [email protected]. He can be reached at @ProfessorCudjoe.