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Harper’s harpsichord
Feb 24, 2015 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon
Can Elisabeth Harper’s prime ministerial candidacy play music for the PPP election campaign? She was selected for that reason thus Mrs. Harper must know she has to deliver. But isn’t her task a Sisyphean one?
Within the reason for Mrs. Harper’s anointment lies one of the most intriguing ironies of the PPP in recent years. However nice and generous the media wants to be to Mrs. Harper the fact is she has never been political material (of her own choosing of course) and therefore is a brand new name to public politics.
Why would the PPP politically elevate a long-serving civil servant, not known for any role in active politics in the PPP’s twenty-two years of rule? The obvious question is so obvious – they needed a new face, a face without baggage, a face not vulnerable to savage, political decimation from the opposition platform. There were none in that category inside the kingdom of the PPP.
With Mrs. Harper’s announcement, the population must have been saying why not someone who has served the PPP devotedly? Knowing it couldn’t find a credible PPP leader, the hierarchy of the party found what it thought was a water-tight alibi – the PM slot must come from the Civic component. But Caroline Rodrigues-Birkett is Civic.
Was Elisabeth Harper a member of the Civic component all this time? If yes, then that was not a public fact. But it now gives the media an opportunity to question her about it. Of course one way of getting around it is to say that in selecting her she didn’t come from the womb of the PPP. But this reinforces the point that they couldn’t find a credible PPP face.
Once the no-confidence motion of the PPP appeared to be inevitable, people inside the PPP began to jockey for the first two slots. Rohee’s name came up for the numero uno position and he kept saying that the presidential candidate has not been considered. If Ramotar’s continuation was a done deal, then from day one Rohee would have simply said, “The party will go back with the incumbent; we won’t remove the incumbent.”
My take is that even with Ramotar, there was disagreement about his candidacy. He was returned because the PPP felt that to dump him was a big risk; it could signal to the country that Ramotar was a failure and the PPP could get the blame.
Once Ramotar was given the nod, Jagdeo came forcefully into the picture. What the PPP will do is front Jagdeo in the hope that he can bring in the bacon because there are top people in the PPP who believe that Ramotar will not engender sparks in the PPP constituencies. I think they are right. But whether Jagdeo is the bright light is left to be seen.
As the PPP faced the inevitable curtailment of its five-year tenure, jostling also began for the PM slot. It was a done deal that a woman will be given the permit. But who fitted the bill? Manickchand was definitely out because it was felt that she was damaged goods. Jennifer Webster’s name featured so did Faith Harding’s. There was the instant dismissal of Jennifer Westford. Only Birkett was under consideration but the PPP felt it needed a brand new face.
Since a man was out of the question, the PPP had to find a woman not previously involved in controversy, not previously known for any political role. The PPP wanted a person that Guyanese could look and say, “She is alright.” But alright in what context? Generally speaking, Mrs. Harper is alright. In fairness to her, she comes without any baggage. Her only grey area was when she was seen picketing Parliament against the 2012 budget cuts. But no one remembers that peccadillo or holds it against her.
So we come back to where we started; will her harpsichord play beautiful music for the PPP? My answer is no. Mrs. Harper is not a politician. She is not an electrifying platform speaker. She is not someone who can excite an audience, the kind you find at political rallies. But most of all, she will not bring votes for the PPP simply because she is a woman and a decent Guyanese.
If the voters were looking at those facts when they voted then the PPP would have been devastated at the 2011 elections because decency was in short supply back then yet the PPP won the plurality. This election will be decided upon the track record of the PPP. The result will hinge on whether people think the PPP deserves to continue or whether so much bad things have been done, that it is time for a change.
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