Leader of the MMM Paul Bérenger challenged his own leadership and won!

Paul Bérenger's resignation as Leader of the MMM depends on him and not on his Central Committee.

Paul Bérenger, Leader of the MMM, is clearly in turmoil. His party only won 6 seats at the December 2014 general elections and he then assumed the post of Leader of the Opposition. When Xavier-Luc Duval of the PMSD with their 11 MPs resigned from government in December 2016, XLD became Leader of the Opposition and Bérenger lost his job.

If he were a pragmatist, he could have made a case to join government but he chose to carry on with his [...] ways of [...] his opponents and claiming their resignations, even exhorting the new Leader of the Opposition XLD to resign. But he failed to face the reality that his job in opposition is merely to serve XLD.

He faces intestinal wars within his party and, as always, Bérenger says he has « beaucoup de dégoût et beaucoup de colère aussi ».  Bérenger explains that, according to the MMM Constitution, the leader is elected by the Central Committee (Comité Central) upon the proposition from the Politburo (Bureau Politique).

Because of his disgust and anger, Bérenger tabled a motion for his own resignation. Surely, unless there is a motion of no confidence against him, for which members of the Central Committee would have to vote upon, his resignation should not be the subject of a similar motion. His resignation depends on him, and him only.

In order to score political points, Paul Bérenger distorts the 'constitution' of his party in order to play his own game, the only thing he seems good at. He tables a motion for his own resignation, puts it to the Central Committee by secret ballot and 63 members voted for Bérenger to remain leader of the MMM, with 9 against and 6 abstentions [10 February 2018].

But Paul Bérenger was already voted by party members as leader of the MMM, and no one tabled any motion to challenge his leadership. What was all this exercise for? Bérenger challenged his own leadership and he won! This is ludicrous!

Paul Bérenger should retire from politics. Apart from his [...] and anger against others, qualities which he has been displaying for the past 50 years, he has nothing to offer to the Mauritian people. He is not even a credible opposition.

M Rafic Soormally

London

11 February 2018