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THE BLUE- EYED BOYS

Dec 28, 2015 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Divisions are reported to have emerged within Cabinet. These divisions are reportedly over the positions taken by certain ministers; positions which have not been supported by other ministers, leading at times to acrimonious exchanges that have led persons to leave Cabinet to “cool off.”
The government will obviously deny that this is happening. The denial is necessary to avoid creating the impression that there are deep divisions and differences among members of the government.
These divisions are not cosmetic. They are divisions which are inevitable whenever there are political marriages of convenience.
Political alliances have to transcend the mere achievement of political power because once political power is achieved, differences will emerge within Coalition governments that will lead to self- destruction.
In the post 1964 Coalition government between the United Force and the Peoples National Congress there were divisions between the leader of the United Force and Forbes Burnham.
When reports surfaced about these divisions, they were vehemently denied. But these divisions were real and almost brought a premature end to the coalition.
The United States embassy which bankrolled the PNC administration for much of that period intervened directly to mend the breach.
The damage however had already been done and even though the United Force did not walk away from the coalition as it had planned to, Burnham decided that he would no longer tolerate the United Force and opted to rig the 1968 elections to gain the majority that he needed.
The PNC has never been comfortable with alliances other than alliances of convenience. The United Force was needed in 1964 and they were tolerated until it had cemented power and no longer needed them.
The Alliance for Change finds itself in a similar position today. It is part of a Coalition government. It is a tenuous coalition held together by a common hatred of the PPP and the need to remove them from power rather than any ideological affinity or common programme. The absence of ideological compatibility or common programme between the AFC and APNU means that this is a marriage of convenience.
The AFC leadership wanted the PPP out. Now that the PPP is out and the infatuation with political office is waning, differences are beginning to emerge. This is one source of the present divisions within the government.
The APNU/AFC division is not the only source of division. There are intra-party divisions. Within the AFC there are divisions which have their roots in factionalism.
There are similar divisions within APNU. There are divisions within the coalition, with at least one party, the Working Peoples Alliance, not allowing the party to be muzzled in the interest of unity.
It has spoken out against the termination of the Commission of Inquiry into the death of Walter Rodney. There are divisions within the PNCR camp.
These divisions are between the hard core party members who are opposed to the control and penetration of ex-military personnel within the party and within the government.
The traditionalists fear that the party is undergoing a coup and is being transformed into a veterans’ party.
One is therefore not surprised by reports that Cabinet is now becoming a war room with major flare-ups taking place. The government is not likely to collapse as a result but the differences that are emerging can permanently poison relations between the various parties and the personalities involved.
Power is too intoxicating to allow for these divisions to force a collapse of the coalition but unless the underlying causes are addressed, unless the “blue-eyed boys” are forced to accede to the wishes of the majority, the government may find itself trotting from one disaster to the next.

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