Put a politician before a crowd of his own supporters and his capacity for thoughtful clarity seems to evaporate into intoxicated fervour.

So, Sunday's speech by Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister, Patrick Manning at a conference of his People's National Movement (PNM) does not, for us, provide an adequate basis from which to assess the philosophy that undergirds Mr Manning's promotion of deeper integration, possibly a political union, between Trinidad and Tobago and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Indeed, Mr Manning's remarks give added credence to Prime Minister Bruce Golding's call for this matter, and the future of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) generally, to be debated, fully and frankly, by the heads of government when they meet in Guyana next month.

In fact, the leaders of the OECS - a group made up primarily of CARICOM members in the Leeward and Windward Islands - might themselves require some explanation from Mr Manning of the manner in which he framed Trinidad and Tobago's case for this deeper integration.

Unassailable

This newspaper, of course, believes that the logic of Caribbean conglomeration is unassailable. We, however, found Mr Manning's narrative to be almost condescending, capable, despite his claim to the contrary, of fuelling those who ascribe to Mr Manning imperial aspirations.

Such charges, ironically, echo the late Eric Williams' warning to English-speaking Caribbean countries to be wary of "new imperialists", at a time when Venezuela's Rafael Caldera was making overtures to the region.

In Sunday's speech, Mr Manning reminded his party's supporters about just how well Trinidad and Tobago's oil and gas-fuelled economy was doing, and the tribulations of the OECS members, where his country finds an export market of TT$$400 million annually.

His country's unemployment, Mr Manning said, was 4.2 per cent, while in the OECS states it ranged from 15 per cent to 20 per cent. The implication of the worsening economic situation in the OECS is that its citizens will 'seek greener pastures'. Trinidad and Tobago represents one of those fields.

The reality of it

"We are not going to have enough police officers to stop the influx of illegal migrants into Trinidad and Tobago ... . That is the reality of it".

Indeed, Mr Manning raised the spectre of illegal immigrants squatting in Trinidad and Tobago and jostling for services against "those who are legitimately citizens of Trinidad and Tobago".

That may be sound logic for offering aid to the OECS, but clearly not the logic of economic and political integration, where one expects programmatic symbiosis among the component parts of the union. A seamless economic space presumes the free movement of all factors of production, including labour, for the benefit of the whole.

Mr Manning, therefore, has to clarify what he means by this deepening integration, if, on the face of it, it affords the parties nothing more than what now exists in CARICOM.

Worse, the Trinidadian leader runs the risk of signalling a perception of the OECS states as basket cases that need to be thrown a safety net to prevent Trinidad and Tobago being overrun by the hordes.

He needs to fix that perception, if his invitation to Mr Golding that the "doors are open" is to be looked on with any favour.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.