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One man show!

May 23, 2018 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The majority of Guyana have had no experience of one-man rule. They do not understand, therefore, the danger is inherent in perpetuating the cult of leadership personality.
Unfortunately, despite all the claims about being democratic tend to like strong man rule. Even the young generation seems to have a preference for a strong ruler.
Guyana once had a one-man rule and it was disastrous. Burnham ruled supreme over his party, the government and the country. He was a law unto himself.
He destroyed Guyana. Those who believe that Guyana cannot become like Venezuela is today, should recall that we were once worse that Venezuela is today.
The shelves of the Venezuelans supermarkets are not totally barren. You can get food and groceries to buy on the day, which is allotted to you. But there was a time in Guyana when the only thing you could get in our supermarkets were local products such as rice, sugar and rum.
Guyanese had an escape valve then. Tens of thousands went to Suriname and set up homes in Suriname and in the same Venezuela. Hundreds of thousands more emigrated to the Caribbean, North America and Europe.
That valve still exists but not for everyone. Anti-immigration policies are now part of the new global order. Therefore, many can still run but not as many as before. It is the poor who are going to feel the squeeze, as they did in the past, if one man-rule causes a destruction of democracy and the economy.
Therefore, Guyanese as much as they admire the strongman, must always be mindful of the lessons of their own history. One-man rule leads to destitution. And Guyana was once more destitute that Venezuela is today.
Some Guyanese are looking towards the Leader of the Opposition to come to their rescue. They call him the boss.
The Leader of the Opposition however is no messiah, even though he operates as though he is one. He went into Tiger Bay a few days ago. He was the only leader of the PPPC who was a part of his party’s delegation. He still exhibits that tendency to want to single handedly dominate the political space that is allocated to him.
The PPPC, under him, has become a one-man show. The PPPC cannot win any election once it is a one-man show. The PPP needs cross over votes. East Indians from which it draws the bulk of its support, now only constitute below 40% of the population. This makes it difficult even in a polarized election for the PPPC to win a majority.
The PPPC therefore needs crossover votes and Jagdeo recognizes this. But Jagdeo is his own enemy. He cannot hope to reverse the PPPC fortunes if he is the centre of gravity of the party. A one-man show is counterproductive to his own efforts at trying to win over non-traditional votes for the PPPC.
Jagdeo, regardless of who is the Presidential candidate, is expected to be the power behind the PPPC’s bid for power in 2020, just like how many people believed that he exerted influence over the PPPC’s minority government from 2011-2015.
Similarly, the APNU cannot be a one-man show. This goes against the grain of a coalition. And if the PNCR is to retain power it needs to continue its Coalition with the other parties of the APNU and the AFC. However, minuscule are the other parties within the APNU, they coming together is a powerful symbol which can create enough swing votes to allow the coalition to retain power.
APNU is fast becoming the PNCR and the PNCR is fast becoming a one-man show. August will be an opportunity to change that and to demonstrate that the PNCR has a succession plan, which does not depend on one person.

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