The contest heats up

Jul 04, 2018 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Never before in the history of the PNC has there been such great interest in the post of Chairperson. This year’s Congress will see at least three persons running for the post.
Why the interest? According to the Constitution of the party, if the position of Leader is void then it is the Chairperson who assumes the post of Leader until Congress is held. In theory, whoever holds the post of Chairperson is likely to be endorsed as the party leader-in waiting.
It is for this reason that there is so much interest in the post of Chairperson for this year’s August Congress. David Granger is not a young man. He is now barred from contesting beyond 2025 when he will be 80 years old. There have even been suggestions that he is not likely to contest the 2020 elections.
Given the fragility of the APNU+AFC’s hold on power – it has a razor-slim one-seat majority in the National Assembly – it is not likely that Granger will indicate his intentions, prior to this Congress. This will create problems for his authority in the final two years of his term.
It is therefore likely that the PNCR will have to make two major decisions over the next two years. The first will be the Leader-in-waiting and the second will be its choice for the presidential candidate for the 2020 elections, should Granger decide not to run.
The political frontrunners for the Leader-in-waiting are now known. None of these frontrunners is a young person and therefore the youth vote is likely to be concerned that it can again be sidelined in the country’s and party’s political leadership.
There is also the issue of what will happen to the party’s Coalition with the AFC should Granger not contest the 2020 elections. The AFC leadership having tasted the nectar of political office is not likely to pull out of the Coalition but there is no guarantee that it will enjoy the same relations with the PNCR in the future as it does now.
The chemistry between the sides has not been the best. There are serious fractures within the Coalition. The AFC has been treated with disrespect and even its appeal for discussions to begin on contesting local government elections have been put on the back burner.
The AFC is being undermined within the government. The PNCR has carefully assessed the weaknesses of the AFC and has come to the conclusion that the latter is not averse to being humiliated.
The ruling Coalition is brittle. What is keeping it together is the fear of a PPP return to power. The PPPC however does not have the political numbers to win an election. And the PPPC, because of Jagdeo’s poor leadership, has done nothing to woo support or build alliances. The PPPC therefore should be the least of the worries of the AFC or the PNCR.
It is for this reason that it would be unfortunate if this year’s Congress of the PNCR becomes an exercise in countering the PPPC. The PPPC is not likely to return to power in the near future.
The real threat is from within. Corruption is rank and brazen; incompetence proliferates; implementation is facing serious bottlenecks; no new major projects outside of those conceived by and commenced under the PPPC have been developed; there have been starts and stops in respect to major infrastructural projects such as the Demerara Harbour Bridge; there is widespread perception of nepotism within the government; the country is unsafe and the political climate fatally poisoned by the APNU+AFC’s policies of political retribution.
But for the PNCR there is another important issue, which it cannot ignore. The government is being militarized and the influence of military veterans is likely to penetrate within the political establishment. The old guard of the PNCR is likely to feel threatened of being overrun. How is that going to change the character of the PNCR?
This year’s Congress, likely to be the last before the elections of 2020, cannot therefore be simply about preparations for those elections. There are other important issues to be settled, including threats to the traditions of the party and the all-important issue of political succession.

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