BY JOHN YEARWOOD
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad -- Carol St. John was preparing to leave Trinidad after her annual vacation when Prime Minister Patrick Manning dropped a bombshell: New elections will be held in six weeks, 2 ½ years ahead of schedule.
``After he called the election, I canceled my return to London,'' said St. John, who has lived abroad for 40 years. ``I'm staying until after the election so I could vote.''
Manning may need St. John's vote now more than ever. His ruling People's National Movement, which has dominated politics in this oil- and gas-rich southern Caribbean nation for a half-century, faces a major battle to retain power.
The political landscape has shifted dramatically in the 2 ½ years since Manning won a second five-year term. The often-fractured opposition, consisting of about a half-dozen disparate parties, has united under a ``People's Coalition.''
Its charismatic leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, shocked the political establishment earlier this year by defeating her one-time mentor Basdeo Panday to become head of the main opposition United National Congress.
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