As the general election approaches, Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the UNC are desperately clinging to the past, attempting to use the People’s Partnership government’s track record from 2010 to 2015 as justification for another chance in office. This comparison is not only misleading but entirely irrelevant to the reality of today’s UNC. And it is why the idea of voting for the lesser of two evils, or for personalities, has never led to great governance. This is because the performance of any government is not solely determined by its leader but by the strength and competence of its team. In 2010, the People’s Partnership succeeded largely because it was a coalition that brought together some of the best minds in governance, many of whom were not even part of the UNC. Figures such as Winston Dookeran, Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, Gary Griffith, Anand Ramlogan, Devant Maharaj, and Ganga Singh played critical roles in shaping that administration. But where are they now? They, along with nearly all the high-performing ministers from that government, are no longer in the UNC. The likes of Suruj Rambachan, Dr Tim Gopeesingh, Bhoe Tewarie, Fazal Karim, Stephen Cadiz, and Winston “Gypsy” Peters have all been replaced by a crop of individuals with little to no experience in governance. Ram, Ratiram, Vandana, and Khadijah—none of whom have demonstrated the ability to manage a constituency effectively, much less a country—are now the faces of Persad-Bissessar’s so-called “new team.” Even worse is Persad-Bissessar’s now intimate association with Phillip Alexander, who has a history of divisive and nasty comments, directed at everyone, including members of the UNC and herself. It is delusional for Persad-Bissessar to claim that voting for the UNC in 2025 will bring the same level of performance as 2010. The team that made her government function is gone. The UNC today is an empty shell of what it once was, filled with inexperienced loyalists whose primary qualification seems to be their willingness to carry her bags and echo her rhetoric. Trying to sell the public on past performance while presenting an unqualified, ineffective team is like asking Brian Lara to return to the West Indies cricket team because he performed well decades ago or calling on Hasely Crawford to run in the 2024 Olympics because he won a gold medal in 1976. It simply does not work like that. Moreover, this current iteration of the UNC has proven that they cannot even perform in opposition—failing to provide credible alternatives, failing to challenge the Government effectively, and failing to inspire confidence among the population. If they are incapable of functioning as a strong opposition, how can they possibly run a government? The people of Trinidad and Tobago must not be fooled by Persad-Bissessar’s attempts to recycle past glories in the hope of securing another term in office. A government is only as strong as its team, and the UNC today is a shadow of what it once was. The nation deserves leadership that is forward-thinking, competent, and built on merit—not nostalgia. Rajpaul Bihari-Singh