There are days when any sort of political analysis is rendered redundant by the predictability of our power-hungry overlords. Raffick Sorefan left the opposition bench to cross the floor into government, following the likes of Joe Lesjongard and Zouberr Joomaye. Some observers were not surprised by the announcement, convinced that Sorefan’s inexorable descent into government had already occurred weeks ago.

Sorefan argued that he was not in it for the money — they never seem to be — because he could have made so much more as a doctor in the private sector. We are not sure who told him to make that sacrifice. The voters, for one, did not. Sorefan tried his luck twice at a general election, once in 2010 and again in 2014. Both times, he came out fifth, only making his way into parliament via the best loser system. It must have been hard giving up on his lucrative career in medicine for a cushy job with a meagre six-figure sum sneaking into his bank account every month. We thank you for your sacrifice.

Then again, we can’t blame the man for wanting to sacrifice himself for the country even if the voters don’t want him. After all, this is not his first sacrifice. He was mayor of Quatre-Bornes for the Labour Party in 1996, while Navin Ramgoolam was in power. He was elected as municipal councillor for the MMM in 2001 during the MMM/MSM government. He then left the MMM in 2015 as they were at the arguably lowest point in their history. He left the MP in 2016 when hopes of a potential coalition with the government faded away. He served a few months as an independent member of parliament waiting for his chance to get into power. With the opposition now more divided than ever, Sorefan has finally made it into power. The ultimate sacrifice!

It would be unfair to say that this is anything new even if the likes of Sorefan have taken it to a different level. After all, it is a simple probability theory based on Pascal’s wager. Famous mathematician Blaise Pascal argued that any rational individual should believe in God mainly because of its potential benefits. Believers would gain infinitely more from God’s existence than atheists would gain from God’s non-existence. 

In the case of Mauritian politics, spineless politicians like Lesjongard, Monty, Wong, Joomaye and Sorefan have put aside any principles to abide by Pascal’s wager. They don’t need to agree with the MSM or Pravind Jugnauth. They just need to believe in him for the time being because that’s how they will maximise their gains. Pravind Jugnauth is their feudal lord these days even if he is not ours. 

Pascal only argued for the rational belief in God. He did not say which one. When the demi-God ruling the country eventually changes in 2019, so will the allegiances. We look forward to hearing more turncoats telling us about their sacrifices for the country. 

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