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Oct 09, 2014 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon
One of the lessons of practical psychology that I learned when I worked for the Maurice Bishop Government in Grenada (that government imploded in an outbreak of violent mayhem) is once a national leader declares a course of action it automatically brings expectations and reactions.
Those who admire the leader wait for the action to be adopted so they can strengthen it. Those who will be adversely affected will be conspiring. If you fail to carry it through within a certain time frame, you will still be hurt by your adversaries because once the announcement is made they are planning their reaction.
They may get you before you get them. On the other hand, you lose credibility in the eyes of your supporters if you back down. This situation applies to the politics of David Granger.
David Granger has praised his party’s achievements in Parliament. This may only be partially true. The cruel reality in this country is that short of using extra-parliamentary struggle to weaken the rule of the PPP, what could the PNC have done in Parliament to make the PPP more accountable? This is not a country where university students can be easily moved to protest. This is a society where you can count on your fingers how many lawyers will do a free court case for the oppressed.
Guyana is a land where people accept willingly their mistreatment by the PPP. Guyana is a place where people are more sheep than the sheep themselves. In such an environment of a sleeping population, what does one expect of an opposition party to do? But there is a ‘but’.
But even if you accept Mr. Granger’s balance sheet on his accomplishments in Parliament, there have been the miserable failures of the PNC since 2011 that are unrelated to the processes in Parliament.
Take disaffected PNC stalwarts. Not all who are alienated from their party can be accepted back because there will be some that cannot be placated. But those who are loyalists must be dialogued with to return. So far, Mr. Granger has failed to build a consensus around him in the post-Corbin era. Mr. Granger is intelligent to know that the PNC will remain weak if some of these long serving icons are kept out.
Once a loyalist shows disaffection, a leader has to move quickly and seek a tête-á-tête. Mr. Granger has not done so in all the cases of alienation I know of. The list includes Malcolm Harripaul, Aubrey Norton and Clarissa Rhiel. In the cases of the members of Team Alexander and Faith Harding, the dispute arose when Corbin was the leader. Granger had no beef with them and should have opened talks to reintegrate them. He never did.
During the leadership challenge, Carl Greenidge was terribly abused by a group of hostile women activists using a term that African people the world over will not forgive you for saying. Mr. Granger should have dealt condignly with them. He never did. This crassness is a cultural anachronism the PNC must immediately extirpate from its civilization.
Mr. Granger is yet to explain to the nation if he agreed with the request of Commander Vyphuis to let the barricades around Parliament remain. His party tabled the motion to remove them. The motion was passed. The barricades are still there. Mr. Vyphuis in my presence told Mr. Granger that the Speaker agreed to retain them. The Speaker cannot arrogate that power to himself. Mr. Granger needs to make a statement on this.
Mr. Granger made a terrible mistake in assenting to Rupert Roopnaraine’s request to be the Opposition’s representative on the UG Council. Mr. Granger’s inexperience in politics led to Roopnaraine manipulating him. The essential demand of the UG stakeholders is for a Council devoid of politicians.
In the midst of this long battle to de-politicize UG, Mr. Granger helps the PPP’s tarnished image by putting an opposition politician on the Council. What happened to the hundreds of professionals and businessmen that the PNC could have trusted to represent it at UG? The PNC lost its moral right to condemn the PPP for political interference at UG. Dr. Roopnaraine’s voting record on the Council is indistinguishable from the PPP politicians on the Council.
The PNC did not utter one word in support of the treason accused, one of whom was a serving soldier. The PPP used the treason accused to scare members of the security forces. The case ended in failure for the PPP.
Finally, the PNC needs to get out of the Rodney Commission immediately. It is a deadly trap set for the WPA and the PNC.
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