That a party should take some time to get over a bitter defeat in general elections appears more than normal. It is all the more human that its members ? particularly the leaders ? find it tough to hold their heads high after they failed to mobilise their electors. All the greatest leaders of this country, including Sir Anerood Jugnauth and more recently Paul Bérenger, have experienced the wilderness at some point in time. This period could even be beneficial as an opportunity to call into question and accept their mistakes and errors and start on more solid bases.

The last general elections were held on 3rd July. The opposition parties have had more than five months to get themselves together and start doing their jobs. They should have used this time to reflect on their weaknesses. But astonishingly enough ? Anil Gayan is not sure if the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) has analysed the reasons for its defeat. ?I know some committees have discussed the issue but I don?t know what the conclusions were.?

Yet, this should have been the first step towards recovery. After this hard time, the opposition has a duty to wake up and work for the benefit of the country and its citizens. The decision of the three parties of the opposition to split up while remaining in the opposition led us to believe they were going in the right direction. It was supposed to give them time to consolidate the foundations of their parties. But I must admit the ?follow-up? has been disappointing.

The Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) announced a major renewal with the arrival of new faces in its political bureau. By renewal, the public had reason to believe that the party leader would seize the opportunity to introduce young and dynamic members. But it appeared quite disappointing, as the renewal did not involve any new member.

We would have expected the MSM reconstruction to be the ?talk of the town.? Instead of this, the ?focus? has been on expulsions from the party. Pravind Jugnauth is the leader of the MSM and he has the right to reorganise his party as he wishes. If the two members were considered ?undisciplined? by the leader, he may have found it difficult to re-organise his party with such members. He may have to establish his authority over his members to make of the MSM a major contender in the next general elections in five years? time.

Pravind Jugnauth does not have the same duty as Paul Bérenger as opposition leader. The latter?s role is defined by the Constitution and he has legal duties towards the population.

Pravind Jugnauth does not have a seat in Parliament. But this should not prevent him from making his contribution to important national issues. As leader of an opposition party, he should contribute to national debates. The MSM members have appointed him as their leader although he is not an elected MP and he is responsible for leading his MPs.

Both MMM and MSM leaders have to make sure their internal problems are solved; they should do their best to consolidate their parties but should not forget that the country needs all its resources at a moment where some of its economic pillars are in jeopardy through external factors. Now is the time for action at the national level.

The priority here is to make sure the government is doing a good job for the country?s survival. Who will ensure that the government is working if it is not the opposition?

Both parties have been so conciliating at some points in time that there were even rumours that they would join the government? Rumours that they have quickly denied. It is now time for them to prove that their parties will remain in the opposition by making their voice heard on issues of common interest.