With the general elections out of the way in Trinidad and Tobago, many persons may not see the need to take an active interest in what is happening with political parties. However it is important that we do since political parties have a very crucial role to play in our society.

If we take a simple view of political parties, we see them simply as a mechanism to allow candidates to win an election and as having the following main functions:
• Raising money, acquiring a staff, encouraging supporters to go out to vote, recruiting volunteers and maintaining party headquarters.
• Allow the political machinery to function so that a candidate can be elected into office.
• Spreading information on what a candidate believes – canvassing the community and circulating campaign material which can range from brochures highlighting a candidate’s plans, to advertisements encouraging persons to vote for a particular party.

Many of us equate political parties with elections only. The Church however has a broader view of political parties. “Political parties have the task of fostering widespread participation and making public responsibilities accessible to all.

Political parties are called to interpret the aspirations of civil society, orienting them towards the common good, offering citizens the effective possibility of contributing to the formulation of political choices”.

This highlights some important activities that political parties should be involved in. Political parties should be capable of articulating philosophies and developing policies since in the majority of instances political parties form the government which leads the nation, and their members hold senior government positions.

Those acting with political responsibility today are members of a political party. Independents have disappeared almost entirely from the political landscape in Trinidad and Tobago and in many parts of the world.

And even where political parties have not formed the government, they are the opposition and have a critical role in scrutinising the policies of the government of the day and providing workable alternatives.

It is important for them to formulate methods to debate issues both during and after an election campaign. They can provide the population with very useful information and help them in coming up with the best solutions to promoting the common good. Parties are one of the main avenues for political debate and discussion in the community.

A party's "product" should be its political programme, which should be put before the electorate. To this end, the manifesto proposed by parties performs two main functions.

Firstly, it should articulate the interests of the people (parties as a mouthpiece of the people), and, secondly, manifestos also have the task of influencing public opinion (parties as formers of opinion).

In coming up with this manifesto, parties should seek to pull together varying interests to find compromise between differing groups and sections of society in order that the conflicting arguments do not come to a head.

Political parties can also be avenues for community groups to influence the decision-making process. Many pressure groups such as trade unions for example have close links with political parties.

The Compendium also reminds us that political parties “must be democratic in their internal structure, and capable of political synthesis and planning.” This is very important. When assessing parties, citizens need to understand how the internal processes of the party work.

Are there free elections in their internal party elections? Does everyone have a say? Do some have more of a say than others? These are excellent markers, which can indicate what is likely to happen if the party gets into government. 

Next week we look at information and democracy.

Persons interested in purchasing the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church can contact the Justice Desk, Archbishop’s House at 622-6680. Also on sale at the Justice Desk is Responses to 101 Questions on Catholic Social Teaching.