<B>Given your political history, people may be forgiven for not knowing what your message is. What do you stand for?</B>

I’ve always said that we should try to create a new approach to society, taking into consideration the electronic age, the erosion of trade barriers, the fact that we’re a multiethnic nation and the coming generations. As politicians, we should try to cater for the new generation rather than try to correct the old way of living. Communication is the most important thing in the life of any individual or party.

<B>Don’t you think that, by not finishing your mandate, you betrayed those who voted for you to represent them?</B>

My political mandate lasts five years. On Saturday, I reached my fifth year. Parliament will be breaking for Christmas holidays so, by the time of the by-election, I’ll only have missed out on the October to December period. The government thinks it’s been doing well. So let it and the opposition face the polls. The best judges are the people. Some say that we need a new government and others say that the current government needs to wake up. I’m just trying to get things going. We shouldn’t let a political issue become a source of social frustration. If the economic crisis worsens, it doesn’t matter who is in power. The country will reach a point of irreversible damage. I think a fresh mandate is needed.

<B>How do you respond to critics who call you a political turncoat?</B>

Let’s put it this way, Mauritius has a tradition of established political parties. Anybody who does something out of the ordinary is given a label. That’s what is happening to me. I don’t want to follow the established order. I want people to start thinking of change, of something new. I feel that my children are against the way we are doing things. The older generation doesn’t want to let go and democracy has to start at party level. I want to be liberal and express my thoughts.

<B>Do you think Mauritius needs another political party?</B>

A party needs a lot of money and the ability to take blows below the belt. We are imprisoned in a system where existing political parties want to prevent the emergence of new parties. The financing of political parties must be reviewed and the Constitution changed to allow anyone to start one’s own party or operate as independent.

<B>Which do you think would be the best option for the country? By-elections or general elections?</B>

By-elections will give a clear indication on the outcome of general elections. Neither government nor opposition wants to know the outcome of a bye-election and I’m completely flabbergasted by this. I’m duty-bound to get people to change their way of thinking. We’ve got a marvellous country and politicians are trying to divide it.

<B>Was your resignation linked, in any way, to an attempt to hinder the prime minister’s ability to fix the date of the next general elections?</B>

There’s mixed thinking on this. I thought to myself that, with a by-election, constituency No. 3 would change and send a signal to everybody on what the next government will be. I believe that, if there’s a will and if there are enough people who want a new party, we still have time. We must give it a go. For posterity, I’ll know that I’ve done my duty because this country’s going to hell.