A wake-up call

Dec 23, 2018 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

---

What unfolded on Friday night was a development desperate to happen. It was not about treachery or betrayal; there was always the possibility that with a razor-slim, one-seat majority, a no-confidence motion could succeed at any time, or that the work of the government could have been stymied by its inability to get Bills through the Assembly.
The fall of the government was always on the cards. But the haughty, hubris-filled and arrogant government did not recognize this possibility. The government behaved as if it had a ten-seat majority and an unbridled mandate to govern. It used its one-seat majority as if it had a two-thirds majority.
The no-confidence motion could have been avoided. The Leader of the Opposition made certain demands, which were ignored in the 2019 Budget. The Leader of the Opposition wanted the VAT on water and electricity and medical services removed. He called for the subsidy for water and electricity for pensioners restored. He demanded that the $10,000 school grants be reintroduced. He asked for the increased water and land charges to be withdrawn by the MMA/ADA, the 2% final tax for miners to be restored, and for slashing the increases in water tariffs, fuel prices and university fees.
The Minister of Finance did not yield to any of these demands. And so the government in which he is a Minister has fallen. Is anyone still going to blame the Opposition for what can only be described as an intractable government?
The conduct of many of his Ministers embarrassed President David Granger. Some of them were unfit to be Ministers. But they were retained, even though they constantly brought the government into disrepute.
The scandals surpassed even those under the PPPC. Much of it was shameless. All of these things were fodder for the Opposition during the debate of the no confidence motion.
There was widespread dissatisfaction with the government. Many of its supporters felt neglected. They felt that the government was discriminating against them. Many positions in the government were not being advertised and persons were handpicked for these jobs. Favouritism was being shown to military retirees.
The PNCR and the AFC became power drunk. The PNCR lost the 2016 local government elections. But surprisingly did little to reverse its fortunes in the two years leading up to the 2018 polls.
The Coalition Government went into the 2018 elections divided. The PNCR used those elections to try to reduce the AFC’s influence in the government. But the PNCR also ran an ineffectual campaign.
The government did a poor job at defending its record during the no confidence debate; it was hopeless. The government seemed to feel that everything boiled down to the vote and came ill-prepared for the motion. The government handily lost the debate and thus deserved to lose the vote on the motion.
It was inevitable that an AFC member would cast the decisive vote. The AFC allowed itself to be prostituted by APNU. This bred disaffection within its ranks. From day one in government, it was sycophantic towards APNU. It did not retain its independence. When the bond scandal was exposed, the AFC came charging out to the defence of those who were implicated in the controversial contract. The AFC betrayed itself and its supporters and is now reaping the rewards of its actions.
It is no use blaming the AFC Member of Parliament whose vote allowed the no-confidence motion to be passed. He explained that his party was going along all the time with the government, and that its actions had caused distress within his constituency. If it was not him on Friday, it would have been someone else some other time, because the AFC did not appreciate the need for it to maintain an independent position within the government.
The AFC allowed itself to be humiliated. APNU dumped the AFC for local government elections. It sent it out to be devoured by the PNCR and the PPPC. Why then, onto the last, did the government expect that everyone in the AFC would have held loyalty to the government?
The WPA saw the writing on the wall, and on the very day of the vote, began to signal that it was not going to go along with the government on every issue. It condemned the controversial statement made by Volda Lawrence about jobs for PNC persons. The AFC could have done the same, but refused.
The passage of the no-confidence motion is a wake-up call for the PNCR and the AFC. But the bus has already departed. The wake-up call has sounded too late. The coalition, whatever will remain of it in the next three months, will lose the March 2019 elections. There is too little time to change course.

---

---