APNU’S OPTIONS

Feb 08, 2014 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

There seems to be a great deal of anticipation as to who will fill the parliamentary seat left vacant by the resignation of Deborah Backer. A number of names have been bandied as possible replacements to take over the Shadow Minister’s portfolio.
APNU will have a new parliamentarian. The position has to and will be filled. But the Shadow Finance Minister to replace Backer need not be this new person. If the existing Shadow Cabinet in APNU is reshuffled, then one of the existing Shadow ministers can assume the responsibility of being APNU’s point person on foreign affairs and whomever is appointed to replace Backer can be shunted to the backbenches.
Cabinet reshuffles were a regular feature during the 28th year rule of the PNC. Most of these reshuffles took place at the start of the New Year and was announced whenever President Burnham addressed the nation for that occasion. These reshuffles saw a number of ministers being reassigned to new portfolios. This is very normal in governments that have been in power for many years.
Unlike what many people feel, you do not need to be a technical expert in a particular portfolio to take over that position. Desmond Hoyte was once made Minister of Finance and he was a lawyer with no financial background.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, the PPP has not followed that tradition of sweeping reshuffles. Whatever reshuffles they have had has involved only a few Ministers. The most significant changes usually take place whenever a new government is elected. But once that government is in place, changes have been few and far between.
There is one view that because the same old faces have appeared again and again within the PPP government this contributed to the syndrome of incumbency fatigue that was said to have contributed to voter apathy amongst PPP supporters at the last elections.
A Minister of the Government resigned and it is now clear that no new Minister is going to be appointed. The PPP operates like a closed circle and in so doing it may be immunizing itself from fresh new ideas and the positive change that can come with new blood within the Government.
APNU has two options in terms of filling the position left vacant by Backer’s resignation. It can find someone to undertake the foreign policy responsibility and name that person to replace Deborah Backer as the party’s shadow Minister on Foreign Affairs. A number of names have been suggested. Whether those persons are good enough to assume responsibility for the Shadow portfolio is for APNU to decide. All the persons whose names are being bandied about were part of APNU’s national top- up list and are therefore eligible to be selected.
However, there is a second option. That option is to reshuffle the Shadow Minister Cabinet. This has some benefits. There may be some persons who may be better suited to other portfolios. Also, it is always good to bring fresh ideas to any new portfolio and a reshuffle of the portfolios can achieve this. In addition, it is good to expose members to a broad range of portfolios.
In fact, the leader of APNU himself is extremely well-suited to assume the responsibility of Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is a historian and is qualified in international relations. Academically therefore he fits the Bill. But he may also wish to consider having another frontbencher take up that responsibility and have that person’s Shadow portfolio filled by another. This will allow for a completely new person to be appointed to the backbenches.
The decision would have been easier if Backer was on the geographical constituency list. That would have limited the choices and the options open to the party. But the fact that she is on the national top- up list means that there is a wider range of persons from which APNU is to choose, including one by the name of Hamilton Green who many feel has done enough to earn a recall to Parliament even at the ripe old age of 79.
In the end, this is a decision for the leadership of APNU. Whatever their decision, one thing is certain. Deborah Backer will be missed. She was quite a handful in the National Assembly. Her presentations were always solid and she was an extremely nice person who may have traded barbs across the floor but who harbored no personal bitterness towards the Government side.
Indeed her resignation represents a great loss to the party because she was seen as having the potential to eventually one day become the leader of the PNCR.

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APNU’S OPTIONS

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