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HOME	JANUARY 08th, 2005

JAN 08

Political Leader of the People's Labour Movement (PLM) Dr. Francis Alexis has brushed aside suggestions that he was planning to rejoin the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), headed by barrister at-law Tillman Thomas.

"That is not so at all", said Dr. Alexis, a former Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs in the 1990-95 Congress government of Sir Nicholas Brathwaite. Alexis, a former Deputy Political Leader of NDC, was responding to questions from the GRENADA TODAY newspaper about certain approaches allegedly made on his behalf to the Congress Party.

This newspaper was told that an emissary of the PLM leader was sent to meet with the NDC Leader to inform him that Dr. Alexis was interested in "opening lines of communication" with his former party.

Thomas is known to have told a few senior members of the NDC about the conversation he had with the emissary. Dr. Alexis described as "rubbish" suggestions of him returning to the NDC.

"There is no truth to that at all, I have no intention of rejoining the NDC, not at all", he said. On Monday, the PLM Political Leader issued a press release indicating that his party is committed to national unity in the national interest and that this may at time require cooperation between PLM and other political parties, but that there is no question whatsoever of him rejoining NDC.

The Congress Party has indicated that it had no intention of entering into any "bargaining" with the PLM boss for rejoining the group. A party spokesman pointed out that if Dr. Alexis wanted to return he was free to submit an application "as any ordinary member" and that it would be considered in due course.

He suggested that the public image of the party was much better off in recent years without the presence of some executive members of past years. "This current NDC that you are seeing has a very united leadership. We have moved on from what it used to be. We have no intention of going back to the bickering of the past. The people know who were the trouble makers and thank God they are no longer with us", he remarked.

"We are united behind Tillman Thomas, our political leader and that has to be protected at all cost. We are not interested in allowing into our party and leadership anybody with a history of undermining their leaders in order to reach the top. The days of slimy politics within the NDC are far behind us now", he said.

According to the official, Dr. Alexis is certainly not being considered as part of the NDC strategy for the St. George South-east seat in the next general elections. He said that the Congress was looking at several options based on the recruitment of "new and fresh blood" into its fold.

Dr. Alexis finished third in the November 27, 2003 general election, behind the incumbent, Public Utilities Minister Gregory Bowen of the ruling New National Party (NNP), and NDC's medical doctor, David Lambert.

He won the seats in 1984 with NNP and in 1990 and 1995 on tickets of the NDC. Dr. Alexis lost in 1999 on a "United Labour" platform and again in 2003.