I wouldn’t say he’s gone mad. I must admit I was a little nervous when I heard that he was holding his own cabinet meeting. This was until I figured out what he was up to. What Panday is up to might be alluded to in the words of Neville Bissember (former member of the Guyanese Parliament). Mr. Bissember wrote this letter to a Guyanese newspaper:

"The Prime Minister (PM) remains the PM unless he dies or resigns or loses a general election. Basdeo Panday constitutionally continues in office as PM until replaced by someone elected by the people. The government of Mr Panday remains the government and this is more so as a matter of sheer necessity. President Robinson has sadly misused his constitutional powers and blundered. Mr Manning must be removed forthwith and new elections conducted. What is taking place in Trinidad is a sad commentary on the system of democracy and parliamentary government in the Caribbean. Caricom cannot sit idly by and remain silent."

Panday may be trying to add strength to his argument that the Manning government is illegitimate by focusing on the point that he (Panday) wasn’t voted out of office. The more pressure he can bring to bear on the current administration, the sooner we may find ourselves back at the polls.