Consensus politics is a lost cause under Jagdeo

Aug 10, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – At a press conference held on July 19th, Nigel Hughes, Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC), called for a unified effort among political parties to develop a comprehensive 10-15 year plan covering key areas such as education, the economy, foreign affairs, poverty, and health. In making this call, Hughes emphasized that bringing together the expertise of various political parties and the country’s top economists would create a stable plan that endures regardless of which party is in power.

He highlighted the importance of such a plan for the nation’s progress. And he urged President Irfaan Ali to convene a meeting with all political parties and relevant experts to develop this long-term strategy.

The President, as far as is known, has not responded to this call which is consistent with the broad objectives of his One Guyana initiative. But while President Ali did not respond, the General Secretary of the ruling PPPC did.

He immediately poured cold water on Hughes’s proposal by questioning where were the policy plans of the AFC and the Opposition. This was not an unexpected reaction. Jagdeo has long been believed to be not in favour of consensus politics and in fact is viewed as one of the main stumbling block to the evolution and development of such politics.

Under Jagdeo, whenever the call was made for consensus politics or some form of shared governance, the PPPC reverted to its trademark position of the need for the building of trust before any engagement. But how can trust be built without any engagement?

The PPPC under Jagdeo is not going to be open to any form of consensus politics. And given the unrepentant attitude of both the AFC and the APNU in seeking to benefit from the attempt to rig the 2o20 general and regional elections, the PPPC’s position is fully justified.

If a burglar comes into your house and tries to steal your property, you cannot speak to him about sharing the loot. There was a blatant attempt to steal the 2020 general and regional elections. The APNU and the AFC sought to benefit from this attempt. It is unreasonable and unrealistic therefore to expect the PPPC to simply put this behind them and come together with these parties to craft a long-term development plan. It is not going to happen and it will definitely not happen under Jagdeo.

Jagdeo could have dismissed the suggested by arguing that the conditions for a rapprochement among the countries main political parties do not exist. But instead, he opted to venture into the realm of the ridiculous when he said that the AFC needs to first show its plans.

This is not how consensus politics works. Jagdeo wants a sniping match in which he can assail whatever proposal is put up by the Opposition. In discrediting their plans, he can dismiss the need for any joint crafting of a development plan.

When it comes to Jagdeo, consensus politics is a lost cause. He is clearly not interested in it. His record speaks for itself. The National Stakeholders’ Forum is only convened at the convenience of the PPPC and only when it needs that body to adopt a position favourable to it. There is no consistent and sustained engagement with stakeholders. At a time when this country was in a crisis the efforts at constructive engagement and constrictive dialogue floundered under Jagdeo. And Jimmy Carter knew it and blamed the PPPC. But if he only knew that the main obstacle to consensus politics was Jagdeo, he would not have done so.

At his press conference this past week, he kept repeating his new mantra: he wants to see the policies and development plans of the Opposition. But this is not how consensus politics work. How it works is that both sides sit down and agree on methodologies and then discuss and arrive at consensus positions. But that is not going to happen with the PPP under Jagdeo. With him it is either his way or the highway

President Ali therefore faces a dilemma. His One Guyana initiative will be reduced to vacuous sloganeering unless there is a political element aimed at building political consensus. And the PPP and Jagdeo stand as the main obstacle to this happening.

(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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AFC, consensus, Guyana, opposition, Peeping Tom, Politics

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