The PPP is in self-destructive mode

Jan 05, 2025 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Peeping Tom…

Kaieteur News –The PPPC is not some scrappy garage band trying to book a gig at the Seawall Bandstand. It’s a mass-based party with the largest support base in the country. It is party that knows how to win elections that is there for the winning.

Yet, here it is, playing the same tired tune of attacking opposition parties week after week, as if this is what governance means. It’s like watching a magician who only knows one trick. Sure, it’s impressive the first time, but by the 25th rabbit, you start questioning life choices.

Take the latest polls. Bisram’s tracking poll (because what’s a political commentary without a poll?) suggests that a combination of all opposition forces under a credible, likable leader will give the PPP a run for its money. What this suggests is that the main Opposition parties have regained their legitimacy and with it the prospects of putting up a decent challenge to the incumbent PPPC government come elections this year.

This was not what the PPP may have been expecting following the disgraceful conduct of the APNU and the AFC following the 2020 general and regional elections. So why has this happened? It has happened because the PPPC, instead of running its own race, has decided to jog backward, tossing barbs at opposition parties that should have been left gasping for air.

The weekly diatribes against opposition parties—replete with hostility and melodrama—do more to validate these rivals than any campaign ad they could dream up. It’s as if the PPPC is running a free PR firm for its political rivals.

And speaking of PR, let’s talk about strategy—or the lack thereof. A political party is supposed to operate like a well-oiled machine, not like a bicycle with a flat tire and one guy yelling directions.

The Central Committee of the PPPC needs to step up and, dare I say, centralize. Regular meetings, collective decision-making, and a coherent strategy for 2025 should be the order of the day. Instead, we have a party that appears to be the political equivalent of a one-man show.

Let’s not forget the precarious position the PPPC is in. A one-seat majority isn’t just slender—it’s anorexic. It’s the kind of majority that makes you double-check your arithmetic. Combine that with the one-man show and you’ve got a recipe for political disaster. And disaster, in this case, isn’t just losing the next election. It’s the unraveling of a party that clawed its way back to power after five years in opposition and having to endure a 5-month long electoral impasse.

You’d think that experience would have left the PPPC with a deep aversion to unnecessary risks. Instead, they’re doubling down on petty politics, forgetting that their real mandate is to govern. Imagine being handed the keys to a brand-new Mercedes Benz and spending all your time arguing with the guy in the beat-up Toyota 212 next to you. That’s the PPPC right now.

By focusing so much on the opposition, the PPPC is inadvertently giving them a lifeline. It’s as if the party can’t resist the urge to punch down, even when doing so drags them down in the process. And the opposition? They’re loving every minute of it. It’s like being handed a gift-wrapped scandal every week.

But let’s not blame one man entirely. The Central Committee needs to take its share of the blame. If you’re the committee in charge and you’re not meeting regularly, you’re not leading—you’re loitering. Decisions about the party’s direction, strategy, and messaging shouldn’t be left to one person, no matter how charismatic or competent they might be. That’s not leadership; that’s hubris.

So, what’s the solution? For starters, the PPPC needs to stop obsessing over the opposition. The Central Committee needs to reclaim its authority, meet more frequently, and adopt a strategy that’s forward-looking, not reactive.

And for heaven’s sake, stop with the one-man show. Politics is a team sport. Even Michael Jordan needed the Bulls.

The PPPC has the potential to cruise to a second term. But potential is a funny thing—it only matters if you use it. Right now, the PPPC is squandering its potential on theatrics and distractions. If it doesn’t change course, it risks becoming its own worst enemy.

And wouldn’t that be the ultimate irony? A party that fought tooth and nail to overcome an electoral impasse only to lose its way because it couldn’t stop picking fights with ghosts of elections past.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this newspaper.)

(The PPP is in self-destructive mode)

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