The national interest or self interest

Jul 30, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

I notice a creeping change occurring in those making certain moves, those who used to scorn such moves, while vilifying the movers. I identify this post-2020 elections phenomenon of people, exclusively from the opposition PNC, abandoning ship, and enthusiastic about anticipated welcoming reception, while jumping the political fence. It is where the goodies are, the best personal returns.
At one time floor crossing here was worse than cross-dressing, even double crossing. Not anymore, not when oil money is involved. Recently, longstanding senior PNC stalwarts have engaged a public throwing up of hands, articulating of despair, and distancing from the party of their birth, youth, essences and visions. Unsaid, but neither unsuspected nor unknown, are their next steps. That is, their new political alignment, and rationales for doing so. Those are kept underground, along with possible incentives prompting separations from the old political fold. What matters is that they are good for PPP recruitment posters, PPP statistics, and wound the PNC further.
What is happening is that diehards have assessed the terrain and their opportunities for personal enrichment, and conclude that there is only one way, one channel, for their ambitions to materialise. It is through the VP. All decisions of this kind are approved by the big kahuna himself; now comes the new waves of bharatistas. For the right people-those up once high up in the PNC, high-profile, specifically complexioned, and very hungry-the red carpet unfurls rapidly, smartly. This is a win in the PPP column, a loss in the PNC’s, good for crossover supplicants, and good for cosmetics and numbers. It is also good politics, and there is none better than the VP to instigate and incentivise those once on the enemy side of the political and racial partition. I take my hat off to the Great Leader: he expands the circle of captives bound hand and foot to him. He has more studying the landscape, calculating their reception, and gearing for the plunge. After all, the VP has the all-time best nectar: oil money. And it is his to dole out as he sees fit, in the form of jobs, welcome and presence, and tilting the political odds in his favour.
I am thinking how and who to compare the mighty VP to in all of these covert and overt movements. From where I come, his behaviour would be considered poaching, a fighting offense. But here such fall by the wayside, as more and more adversaries find out to their delight, compliments of the erudite VP. It is about oil, money, ascendancy, and continuity. For any of those, men and women have sold lovers, saviours, and souls ultimately. It startles that all this (floor crossing) that was once disdained and dismissed as the worst of betrayals has now transformed into honour, and democratic right, too. It is just the New Guyanese World Order. Oil order. Oil money trumps party loyalty, tribal supremacy and any lingering political cult deity. PPP loyalists must be having fits.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

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