WHATEVER nominal reasons are advanced, the Prime Minister's Cabinet reshuffle is, among other things, an instance of muscle-flexing, given potential leadership issues on the horizon.
Dr Rowley's terse and unexpected changes on Wednesday, the day after the Ides of March, also spoke volumes about the shifting political landscape. It was the biggest sign yet that the dominance of covid19 management in political discourse is now, like the virus, on the wane.
To some extent, the writing had been on the wall in relation to AG Faris Al-Rawi.
After a promising start in which he provided an admirable template on how to bring about legal reform in relation to abolishing child marriage, as well as partially decriminalising marijuana, Mr Al-Rawi failed to score substantial wins.
In fact, his personal conduct in relation to covid19 regulations, repeated Cabinet conflicts, question marks over the Pelican party-boat affair, as well as questionable management of the legal issues surrounding the reform of the selection process for police leadership - all arguably created the impression of a titular head of the Bar prone to unforced legal errors.
The latter issue, particularly relating to the Commissioner of Police, may ultimately have given the PM the most urgent impetus to act, given the recent fallout over last year's murky collapse of the Police Service Commission.
With a local government election due, Mr Al-Rawi's placement in the Ministry of Rural Affairs and Local Government might be seen as an attempt to shore up Government's credentials in that area ahead of the poll.
But while the new postholder has expressed excitement over his new role, the fact is, this lesser portfolio is also something of a poisoned chalice, given this country's poor record on local-government management, as well as the prospect of a mid-term dip in Government's ratings being recorded at a local government election.
Shifting an attorney general has often been, in our political history, a move made on the eve of national elections.
Dr Rowley's predecessor, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, switched her attorney general (from Anand Ramlogan to Garvin Nicholas) just before the 2015 poll.
Her predecessor, Patrick Manning, accepted the resignation of Brigid Annisette-George shortly before his shock decision to dissolve Parliament in 2010. With an internal party election in the offing, the shake-up in Cabinet may have more immediate implications for PNM leadership.
The shifting of Mr Al-Rawi as well as Pennelope Beckles - once a Rowley rival for PNM leadership - will play into a narrative of battle lines being drawn.
And the exit of Clarence Rambharat also raises questions, not the least of which relates to what form the PNM slate will take at the next general election.
The population may not be aware of all the implications of this reshuffle - though not for lack of guesswork and ole talk - but it is to be hoped that serving the people better will be
