The Chronically Troubled Relationship Between Prime Minister and Voters
The overthrow of the first Prime Minister (PM) of Dominica Patrick John on June 21, 1979, represents an extreme case of what is sadly a very common occurrence in the relationship between the Dominica Prime Minister and voters—trouble.
Leadership is a type of relationship and like any relationship, it is a two-way street. John was brutal. His soldiers killed two innocent citizens on May 29, 1979. The people were violent in overthrowing John. They burned and looted private and public property as well as beat at least one person. That is trouble.
One concept that captures the troubled relationship between Dominica PMs and voters is the loss of the PM’s control over his exit from the job. When a PM has control over his exit, he says good-bye long in advance. When a PM loses control over his exit from the job, he does not get to determine the timing of his leaving or the circumstances surrounding his leaving. He does not, for example get to decide if there is peace or violence. Also, he does not get to decide the way in which he leaves the job, for example if he retires, resigns under pressure, or is voted out.
John totally lost control over his exit from the job of PM. He did not get to set the timetable. The Opposition did. They did not wait for a general election. They fired him less than a month after the May 29, 1979, deaths. John did not control the circumstances. The Opposition did. They went on strike, shutting down the country and committed violence. John did not choose the manner of his exit from the job. The Opposition did. After considering a Motion of No Confidence, they decided on switching parliamentary support to a new PM, Oliver Seraphin. In short, John was reduced to a spectator in his exit.
John being shown the door, losing control over his exit, offers a leadership lesson. Six of Dominica’s seven PMs lost control over the timing, circumstances, or manner of their exit. John was one of those six. He was overthrown. Seraphin and James were voted out. Mary Eugenia Charles did not participate in an election which she would have lost. Douglas and Pierre Charles died on the job. Skerrit is the exception. He has already announced his retirement for April, 2025.
Six out of seven is a super-majority. That a super-majority of Dominica PMs were shown the door, losing control over their exit is a sobering finding. It leaves a whole lot of room for improvement in the two-way street that is the relationship between Prime Minister and voters.
