Wylclefs’ Presidential opponent Michel Martelly publicly announced his intentions to run against Wyclef in the upcoming Haitian election. Although he spoke highly of Wyclef’s decision to run, he also added some ‘interesting’ facts about his relationship with ‘Clef and the people of his impoverished country.

In a recent interview, Michel Martelly emerged as the newest candidate for President of Haiti. The career musician, also known to Haitians as “Sweet Mickey” spoke highly of Wyclef and the friendship they have established over the years.

Martelly claims he spoke to him about teaming up to make political changes for Haiti long before Wyclef announced his plans to run. He says, although he found it “strange” that Wyclef didn’t share the information with him, he would have supported him instead of running himself, if he knew. He also went on to say that he thought Wyclef had ‘ good intentions’ but not necessarily good qualifications:

Martelly: “Well, I know that Clef is well intentioned. But, I believe that not having been raised here, not being familiar with any neighborhood – because I don’t think Clef can drive anywhere here on his own – he can’t speak the languages, I agree that those are handicaps. I’m not saying that he couldn’t surprise the world and be a good president. I cannot say that; I would be speculating. I’d be speculating if I said he couldn’t deliver. But there are things about him that raise concerns for us here in Haiti. Because he doesn’t know the country. He doesn’t know who are proper political allies, who he can trust. He doesn’t know our culture, he doesn’t know our way of life, he doesn’t know what we expect. He doesn’t know our needs. He doesn’t realize that some people may never truly accept him. And right now, we don’t need anyone that’s going to be a further source of conflict between the Haitian people. I believe that Wyclef can still help Haiti, I believe he could be a good president after living here for a few years. But again, I welcome his participation. He makes it exciting. And you know, he could be the best president ever, who knows! I don’t want to speculate, I’m just offering some analysis based on the fact that he didn’t grow up here, he doesn’t know the country. He doesn’t know our problems. Because our problems may be more than the money; our problems could be the leadership. In order to make the changes Haiti needs, we need a leader that the majority of the people can trust and believe in. And that’s exactly why even if he was running for President, Clef should have aligned himself with someone who can be a supplement to what he doesn’t know. And I don’t want to make it seem like we’re not still friends. I’ll probably speak to him tomorrow. Who are we to judge how much he’s been in Haiti since the earthquake? We don’t know what his obligations were. So how can we blame him? But we have to analyze the sociological aspects of him not being familiar with our customs, with our way of thinking. Because, you might think that you understand everything from abroad, but when you come here, the problems may be completely different from what you envisioned. And these are things that I would say to Wyclef directly. I love Clef, I appreciate his efforts for Haiti.”

Michel sounds like he’s trying to be politically correct but he does make some valid points about a President understanding the people he plans to rule. It will be interesting to see how this develops.

Source

Bossip