Four names

Aug 02, 2008 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

When you become involved in political chats in and around Georgetown about the PPP’s 2011 presidential candidates, three definite names come out of the mouths of discussants – Ralph Ramkarran, Donald Ramotar and Robert Persaud.

I honestly don’t know why those particular names. When pressed I have to come with some kind of analysis because people out there need to have interpretations of the news.

Over the months several persons have asked me why these three persons. Robert Persaud is elevated because he appears in the eyes of political observers to be what Mr. Medvedev was to President Putin of Russia when the latter was President.

Putin, during his reign, was extremely powerful and came across as the person who controls everything in the political establishment in Moscow. Russian commentators figured that Mr.Putin would favour the politician closer to him.

That was Medvedev. He is now the President. It is no exaggeration to say Mr. Persaud is the person that seems to be the trusted assistant of Mr. Jagdeo.

The thinking of the lay person is that the influence of Mr. Jagdeo is so overwhelming in the configuration and equation of power that he will have a decisive hand in who becomes the PPP’s presidential candidate.

The logic of the average citizen is that Mr. Persaud will come into the picture since he is the choice of Mr. Jagdeo. That seems to be a fair assessment.

Supporters of Mr. Persaud will disagree. Perhaps their contention is that Persaud has become a leader in his own right and has catapulted himself straight into the midst of PPP membership, nationwide.

Mr. Ramkarran is in the arena for reasons that have to do with long-standing leadership. It is felt that the newness and youthfulness of Mr. Jagdeo was an investment that did not pay off. The logic then is to fall back on one of the quintessential players from way back.

Party stalwarts feel that you need a political figure that has been around a long time and such longevity will give him leverage in dealing with diverse forces because he would have known about these entities before and would have interacted with them quite often in the past.

There seems to be some talk that one of the pitfalls of the Jagdeo presidency is that Guyana is burdened with a complex political discourse that requires some finessed diplomacy.

Political pundits opine that Mr. Jagdeo fell down in this department because as a newcomer he lacked in-depth knowledge of the political nuances of that discourse.

I have heard people say that Mr. Ramkarran was successful in his relationship with the total opposition during the endeavour on constitutional reform.

There aren’t many PPP stalwarts around because they have either been eased out or are not interested. There is another category of long-serving loyalists – those that are very much active but because of Guyana’s electoral demography would not be the right choice. Mr. Ramkarran is the only one from that era that is still available and electable.

Mr. Ramotar is generally seen as the party leader and there is some thinking that he holds the party intact and it is time he moves over to the presidency.

Moses Nagamootoo revealed to a media colleague of mine last week that he is interested. I asked him on last Thursday and he confirmed it.

So we have four names. All the time I am asked (as recent as in the park Sunday morning) which of the four I would go for.

My response evokes laughter from those who pose the question. I tell them that if legislation is passed to compel a citizen to offer a preference or else you go to jail for a year, I would gladly choose prison.

I have one and only one unmovable reason for showing absolutely no interest – all four will be the same type of president with the same PPP stamp on their sleeve. I believe the Democratic Party has a high-ranking leader that will do things differently from previous American presidents. That is Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Obama is an exceptional case. He comes across as a political actor that will break with the past in a refreshing way.

None of us in the world knows how Mr. Obama will turn out as President of the US. From the way he has evolved to the things he does politically, one gets the clear and distinct impression that he is not an inside man who wants to preserve the way power is wielded in the US.

He was outspoken against the Iraqi war and voted against it. Guyana needs an Obama either inside the PNC or PPP. The four names in the PPP are not encouraging at all. I repeat – not at all.

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Four names

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