Amédée Darga: "The saddest part is the decline of the MMM over the years"

Amédée Darga, a former member of the MMM and still an active supporter, presents a harsh assessment: fifty years of repeated political splits under Bérenger have progressively weakened the party, squandered historic opportunities, and betrayed the hopes of generations of activists.

"In fifty years, starting from 1976, Paul Bérenger and the MMM have been in power for 25 years but only held actual governance for nine years and three months. Interestingly, the only term that Paul Bérenger completed for five years was from 2000 to 2005, when the Prime Minister position was shared between him and Sir Anerood Jugnauth. Otherwise, during the terms of 1982, 1991, and 1995, Bérenger lasted only four years and three months in power. So today, it’s down to four," Darga reminds us.

He also believes that "while it is true that the majority of the Mauritian population is unhappy with the government’s performance, will leaving the government really improve things? The MMM activists are correct in saying that leaving the government after 19 years in the political wilderness is abandoning them."

"You can’t enter into an alliance, acknowledge that the leader of the other party who is set to become Prime Minister has flaws, and then claim that it won’t work," Darga emphasizes.

Darga laments the tensions at the top of the state and a government record that is deemed disappointing. He also reflects on Paul Bérenger's trajectory, linking it to repeated political breaks and the weakening of the MMM.

"For me, the worst was in 1983 for two reasons: the MMM was the party that won a crushing victory in the 1982 elections with Anerood Jugnauth as Prime Minister. Less than a year later, Paul Bérenger led the party to leave power. Thus, the immense hope created in 1982 was squandered," he states. One of the most dramatic consequences of what happened in 1983, for which Paul Bérenger is responsible, is the resurgence of communalism that we saw in the 1983 and 1987 elections, he points out.

"What is saddest is indeed the decline of the MMM over the decades. It is a party that remains, exists, but is now very weakened," he observes. Paul Bérenger is accountable for what the MMM has become, a weakened party, and for all the missed opportunities to remain in government and do what was necessary.

"With this trajectory, today there are far more activists outside the MMM than within it. This means that those who have maintained a militant spirit are more numerous outside the party than inside. The MMM of today is no longer what it once was."