<B>By Deepa BHOOKHUN</B>

You know how New Year resolutions are always meant to be broken? Well, I sure am going to break mine because my resolution for this year is to be nicer to people and you know how hard that is going to be to keep!

But seeing that the New Year has only just begun, I have no excuse not to try and hold on to my resolution for at least one month. So I?ve decided to wish the very best to our politicians this year. I made my resolution too late to buy cards and I hate e-cards so I am going to have to send my wishes through this column.

To Navin Ramgoolam, Prime minister, I wish wisdom.

I hope he is able to balance firmness with compassion this year. I hope that he keeps his feet firmly on the ground and sees through all the fair weather friends who will fight between themselves to call him their friend. I wish him wisdom to see through those around him who do not give a damn about this country and who are there only for their own personal and selfish advancement. And I hope that he has the courage of his convictions, that he does what he believes has to be done regardless of the pressure of the sometime ill-advised public opinion. And close collaborators.

To Paul Bérenger, wannabe leader of the opposition, I wish peace.

The peace that comes with not seeing everything through power-tinted glasses. The peace that comes from not relating to people only in terms of what they can do for you but rather for who they are. The peace that comes from selflessness, from caring about the country more than about one?s own personal ambitions.

I hope Mr Bérenger rediscovers the joys of saying what he means and meaning what he says. And I wish he realises how liberating this is.

To Pravind Jugnauth, wannabe Prime minister, I wish happiness.

I hope he realises that always being angry and resentful is not conducive to being happy. I hope he realises that the end-all and be-all of life is not about being Prime minister. And I wish him the ability to be able to come to terms with the fact that it is not a sin for other people not to be in agreement with him. And hope that he lightens up, if not for the right reasons, then because anger creates bile and it is definitely not good for the health.

To Ashock Jugnauth, also wannabe Prime minister, I wish luck.

I wish him good luck because he deserves it after having had the courage to break away from the system, to live out his ambitions, regardless of what was expected of him by ?the firm.?

I wish him the fortitude he will need to deal with Paul Bérenger who has promised him the stars and might just let him down. I also wish him luck in his court case concerning his election.

And to the rest of us mere mortals, I wish less hypocrisy!

May we all learn to accept that everyone is different and that they are entitled to be different. May we all learn the virtues of agreeing to disagree. May we master our ugly urge of talking maliciously about people behind their backs. (gossiping is good, gossiping is different)

May we also have the courage of our convictions and? to hell with everyone! May we aim for the stars and reach them!