Aubrey Norton: Possibility of coup d’état

Oct 20, 2022 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Kaieteur News – Please see my column of Tuesday, January 11, 2021 “Aubrey Norton gets a taste of his own medicine.” In that piece I described the tsunami that greeted Robert Corbin when he became leader of the PNC.

Two persons in the PNC did not extend comradely recognition to Corbin – Messrs Aubrey Norton and Vincent Alexander. The undercurrents involved two scenarios. Both men knew Corbin intimately when the three were YSM leaders.

Perceptions were born then and never faded away inside Alexander and Corbin. Secondly, there was the factor of intellectualism. Both Norton and Alexander simply felt that Corbin was not eligible.

Aubrey Norton is facing the identical situation. No need to repeat the contents of that January 11, 2021 piece. It is available through a Google search. Circumstances that led to Norton’s ascendancy in December last year was not favourable to Norton, thus his victory is a Pyrrhic one.

Last year, the PNC was not really not looking for a leader. That was not the issue. The feeling was that David Granger should leave. Joe Harmon committed political suicide by contesting. If the party did not want Granger then why would it want Granger’s trusted lieutenant?

A former head of army intelligence doesn’t necessarily mean that person can strategize politically. A valuable digression is important. I have a taped conversation with 2020 presidential contender, Robert Badal, owner of Pegasus.

I told Mr. Badal his choice of campaign manager was misplaced. Badal told me the fellow was a successful marketing manager with a huge company in Guyana. I told Badal commercial success does not translate into competent political planning. Badal failed miserably in his election participation.

What Harmon should have done is to gather a shrewd group of PNC leaders around a high profile candidate. If he had done that Norton would have been beaten. Norton did not win even half of the votes. That poor status proved that another candidate nurtured by Harmon with Harmon being in the background would have beaten Norton.

It has been roughly 8 months since Norton has been at the top and even Corbin had a more accommodating 8 months. No PNC leader has been embroiled in such controversial cascades as Norton has.

It started with Dr. Van West-Charles. He went public with his criticism of Norton. That was followed by an interview an iconic personality of the PNC gave me. Amna Ally expressed tearful disappointment of her mistreatment. She didn’t name names.

You have to be a fool not to know Norton was one of the persons she was referring to. The alienation of Ally has to hurt Norton. Too many PNC stalwarts are fond of her and would not encourage attacks on her.

Third in line is Geeta Chandan-Edmond (GCE). She has been on leave since August and it is doubtful she will remain as General-Secretary. Chandan-Edmond was a plus for the PNC because of ethnicity and gender. If she stays in, it is only a question of time before she walks. Her problem, like Van West Charles, like Ally, is Aubrey Norton.

Fourth in line is Jermaine Figueira. He shook the hand of President Ali and it set off rumours within the context of Norton’s approach to hand-shaking with the President. Some suggested that Figueira was advised not to but still went ahead.

We don’t know the facts but my analysis is that Figueira would not allow Norton to dictate to him. Figueira’s stance is an atavistic return to the Norton perception of Corbin. There are personalities inside the PNC’s leadership who think their national standing as leaders would not allow them to be dictated to by Norton.

Fifth in line is Annette Ferguson. The press has carried a story where she wrote the PNC leadership with accusations of wrong things done in the PNC election for Georgetown. Here is what is in that letter to all her colleagues in the PNC’s central executive committee including Norton;  “The time has come for the PNCR to rise to the occasion of practicing fairness, honesty and being democratic when it comes to its internal business or affairs,” 

Three cul-de-sacs Norton is standing in front of. One is ageism. There are dynamic young names who feel their generation should take over and that Norton should bow out. Secondly, there is the perception that Norton’s time is short so why shouldn’t they stamp their mark on the face of the PNC.

Thirdly, the perception out there among those young Turks is that Norton is faltering badly and why should they line up behind a failed leader. In the coming months, it looked like a putsch or a coup d’état will take place and Norton will become a footnote. It happens in the graveyard of Guyanese politics.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not this newspaper.) 

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