Guerrilla warfare in the house of gerontocracy

Jul 16, 2014 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

A strange thing happened. Well, it is not really strange if you know the history of the PPP, but to the average lay person, it was. The Indian Arrival Committee (IAC), a child of the PPP and a shameless Indian supremacist organization, issued a statement expressing its alarm at the shocking reduction of Guyana’s population. Chris Ram says that in a decade, 125,000 Guyanese said goodbye.
But this was not all that came from the pen of the IAC. The Indian group went on to intone that Guyana may need to reexamine the nature of politics and power if it is going to keep its present population. The IAC then went into a strange overdrive – it called for a rethink of ethnic politics that would engender inclusiveness. Somehow, I think the IAC got hold of my research paper on ideological racism. I’m glad its members read it.
Why did the IAC go in that direction? The IAC’s “rethink” is the latest in a factional war that has broken out in the PPP the past year. The IAC was founded on the initiative of Bharrat Jagdeo when he was president. One of the leading females in the IAC was supposed to get married to Mr. Jagdeo. It is a group that is backing one of the young Turks, Robert Persaud, to succeed the house of gerontocracy.
Persaud’s own outfit, the internet news forum, INews, is more than undiplomatic in how it shapes the news. In too many instances, it takes a subtle angle that makes the Ramotar administration look bad. I have cited the incident in which INews was the first to report the vehicular accident involving Ashni Singh and published a photograph of Singh at the scene. That was bound to displease Singh.
The private media reported on an alleged “no comment” position of one of Manickchand’s competitors when asked about undiplomatic behaviour. The media also reported on an alleged photo shoot that particular leadership contender had with the Ambassador. INews’s caption of the Opposition’s booing of Manickchand in Parliament over the incident was very graphic.
Each contender to succeed the PPP’s dinosaurs has a different source of backing. Robert Persaud’s supporters are clear that it is an injustice for Irfaan Ali, Ashni Singh, Priya Manickchand, Anil Nandlall, Frank Anthony, to be given the title in front of him.
They feel that newcomers have to wait their turn and their contributions to the PPP are little compared with Persaud.
Persaud has the formidable backing of the Jagdeo edifice, including the Guyana Times and the rich strata that Jagdeo invented. But Persaud operates with serious disadvantages. All the troglodytes at Freedom House are not in support of Persaud, because for them, the Jagdeo era is gone and Jagdeo should remain a thing of the past. Persaud is seen as someone who wants to resurrect Jagdeo.
Priya Manickchand has the support of Gail Teixeira and Ramotar, but she has to contend with other adversaries that Ramotar also supports. Ramotar and the family of Irfaan Ali go way back. Ali comes from a long line of PPP activists. Ramotar gave Ali two Cabinet portfolios with the obvious intention of expanding his influence. If Ramotar has to anoint one of the six names mentioned here, it would be Ali.
Frank Anthony is the dark horse. Many think that when the other five decapitate each other, Anthony will inherit the throne, because he will be the only one left standing. This is exactly how Jagdeo got in, because Jagan’s successors couldn’t come to a compromise after Janet Jagan resigned.
Anil Nandlall is virtually a loner, hoping that his prominent role in saving the PPP in the myriad of legal labyrinths that has engulfed it since 2011 and his high political profile will naturally give him the edge over the rest. This is the same position Ashni Singh finds himself in. He thinks that a high profile as Finance Minister will do it for him. It did it for Jagdeo.
None of these six contenders will succeed the dinosaurs the Jagans left behind, because a democratic process will make them the head of the PPP. From now until the PPP withers away, there is no and there will be no psychological accommodation in the house of gerontocracy for internal democracy.
At the psychic level, such a philosophy does not exist in the PPP leadership.
Who becomes the next PPP leader in 2016 will be decided by the troglodytes themselves. The candidate that is prepared to take instructions from the dinosaurs will be the most favoured one. The gerontocracy will want to exert control over the PPP long after arthritis confines them to their bedroom.

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Guerrilla warfare in the house of gerontocracy

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