Taking a jab at the fractured Opposition, Prime Minister Patrick Manning says he foresees the ruling party will not be elected out of office in Trinidad or Tobago for ’sometime to come’ despite what is widely perceived to be a growing split in his party’s own ranks.

’The prospects for administration in either island are, we believe, very dim and therefore, the future of Tobago is very bright,’ Manning said during his address at the commissioning of the Cove Power Station at the Cove Eco-Industrial and Business Park in Lowlands, Tobago, yesterday.

Some within and outside of the People’s National Movement (PNM) are convinced that there is a split between the Tobago-born Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley and the ruling party’s leadership, after this week’s events in the Parliament.

During the House of Representatives sitting on Monday night, Rowley openly criticised Manning, the political leader of the PNM, for his administration’s management of the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT).

In his response to Rowley’s claims in the Lower House on Wednesday, Manning accused the Diego Martin West MP of joining with the faction in the Opposition, led by MPs Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, Jack Warner and Winston ’Gypsy’ Peters, which has been leading a movement for change in their own party - the United National Congress (UNC).

Yesterday, Manning, without mentioning any other party by name, expressed his confidence about the PNM’s chances in any upcoming national elections, as he spoke of the ongoing relationship between the central Government and the Tobago House of Assembly, which are both controlled by the ruling party.

’This harmony is based on mutual respect and continues to ensure tremendous benefits for the people of Tobago, and which in turn serves the best interests of the entire country. I give the assurance of the continuation of this approach as long as we have the responsibility for the conduct of national affairs. We confidently anticipate, my dear friends, that this will be for some time to come,’ Manning said to the sound of applause.

Some Tobagonians have expressed their dissatisfaction over what they described as the targeting of Rowley by the leadership of the PNM, which won eight of the 12 seats that were up for grabs in the last Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections in January.

The other main contender in the next Local and General Elections is the Congress of the People (COP), which won 22.64 per cent of the votes up for grabs in the 2007 General Election. However, this party has suffered from the departure of two key members, former MPs Gerald Yetming and Gillian Lucky, who is now a High Court judge.