Keeping politicians honest

"The Integrity Commission is currently 'seeking information' about the jet rides of Prime Minister Patrick Manning which were paid for by energy giants British Gas and Repsol."

Opposition MP Roodal Moonilal wants the IC to take a closer look because he wants to know if Manning's jet rides broke any laws since BG and Repsol do a lot of energy business in T&T, and since Repsol "was involved in an active bid process with the government of Trinidad and Tobago."

If the IC finds that Manning broke the law, the balance of power in the country might shift to the UNC. So, Moonilal's motives may be purely political; after all, if you can't win in the voting booth, you try to win by scandal. That's one scenario. The other is this, that whether or not Manning's acceptance of the jet rides was perfectly innocent and had no impact on the outcome of energy bids, it is a good thing that Moonilal is raising the issue at all. The behavior of heads of state must be like that of Caesar's wife; that is the only way that the interests of the country can be properly served.