Big financiers pay the bills

Dec 20, 2021 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – The business class has over the past two decades been able to control the nature of election campaigning. However, in doing so, they have not necessarily, in doing so, been able to dictate the outcome of electioneering.
They know that while they can throw their dollars behind political parties or candidates, they cannot determine who wins or loses. Their main reason for pouring billions of dollars into electioneering is to assure themselves of political insurance whoever emerges victorious.
Whoever wins, the business class does not lose. They support and court both sides of the political divide and so they remain winners regardless of the losers.
A few weeks ago, there were criticisms within the PNC/R camp about a businessman who was perceived to be a financier of the PPP/C. As it turned out, one PNC/R person let it be known that the same businessman had for years been providing support to the PNC/R.
It is a public secret in Guyana that there are elements in the business community who, during electioneering, set aside two sets of envelopes: one for the governing party and the other for the opposition. One envelope might be fatter than the other but the business class secures itself even if its favoured party or candidate does not win.
The business class has used its financial clout to change the face of election campaigning. Years ago, the large political parties would at best garner a few hundred million dollars in campaign donations. And this was the kitty which the parties had to work with. In this way, they were forced to be frugal and focus on roadside meetings, advertisements, travel and posters as their main campaign activities
Some parties however could not meet all their campaign expenses. They racked up debts and were forced, in some cases, to dispose of their fixed assets in order to cover these debts. The WPA was once forced to dispose of one of its buildings in order to settle its campaign debts.
And the PNC/R has also encountered financial stresses after elections. Recognising this vulnerability, the business class made its move after 1996. It began to pour massive sums into the political campaigns of the political parties. Foreign investors edging for concessions became large financiers.
These developments transformed the nature of election campaigning. Massive rallies – geared towards larger and bussed-in audiences have become the focal point of campaigning. They are the principal means of rallying supporters and have transformed rallies from discourse to entertainment.
The political parties have become hooked on these rallies and, as a consequence, hitched to the large donations required to finance them. Elections would not be the same anymore without the pyrotechnics, large stages, huge music sets, buntings and guess performers.
The business class has turned the need for financing these grand extravaganzas to their advantage. They have used their financial leverage to indirectly influence the ideological direction of these parties.
The policies and programmes of the beneficiary parties, when in government, have become more aligned to the interests of the business class. Both the APNU+AFC and the PPP/C have pandered to the interests of the class which provide the bulk of their campaign financing. As a result, the main political parties are increasingly becoming distant from the working class.
And yet, ironically, the votes of the working class are the ones which determine the political fortunes of the political parties. The business class provides the money but the votes which matter come primarily from the workers.
Mass-based support does not pay the bills. Businesses do.
It is now impossible to return to the simple campaigning of the past, mass rallies are here to stay. People go for the entertainment and showmanship and politicians bask in the mass adulation. Roadside meetings no longer have the same appeal. The turnout is usually abysmal. People are more interested in the entertainment than the arguments. Mass media campaigning is now the norm, especially since the advent of social media has become more attractive and provides greater reach.
But there is a price to be paid. And that price is the sidelining of the working class and the favouring of the business class.
The business class is eager to accept the tab for electioneering. They know that every cent they sink into the political parties is an investment with attractive returns. In the meantime, those that matter the most, the ordinary supporters are left to accept the crumbs, handouts and excuses.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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