JAMES Anthony Bond, former Member of Parliament for the PNCR, took political centre stage this week when he endorsed President, Dr Irfaan Ali for a second term.
With the announcement came an avalanche of vile political attacks from members and supporters of the opposition. A lot of the discourse was downright racist. What was amazing to me is that many PNC activists who were James Bond’s “comrades” just the day before, were on the attack with what could be considered hate speech.
In response to those sentiments, James offered the following reasoning, “President Ali and his government have shown the political will to empower every Guyanese, regardless of race, political affiliation, or any other factor, as outlined in our Constitution. The One-Guyana initiative is not merely a promise; it is actively working to build a more cohesive nation.”
One would’ve thought that this kind of attack on James would’ve come from fringe elements in the opposition, but this approach seems to be mainstream and part of the opposition’s modus operandi. This approach to politics is not limited to the PNC, ditto to the AFC. I thought that the PNCR would take credit for providing political exposure, opportunities and training that made James a valuable political asset to the point where the PPP can now find him politically attractive and useful. They could’ve even used the opportunity to take a dig at the PPP by saying, something to the effect that, when PPP reveals its true colours and James wakes up from his temporary political daze, there is a welcoming arm in the PNC. Instead of expressing sadness that one of its fiercest soldiers was lost to the ‘enemy,’ the party flew into a fit of anger and responded to James as though he is the personification of an age-old satanic enemy. This is symptomatic of the opposition practise of politics.
The asininities associated with this approach is that they are not giving James pause to reconsider his decision, if for no other reason, on account of the long years of friendship, toil and side-by-side ‘struggle’ for a common cause. The designation of James as public enemy number one simply means that he cannot trust those folks to re-associate himself with them. They revealed themselves to be ‘enemies’ all along, simply lay-waiting to strike him the moment he stepped on their toes. They have now made the opposition a dungeon of serpents to which James can never return. This approach will alienate a lot more supporters of the opposition who stand aside and see that instead of the party elements thanking James for his years of toil and service, has declared him to be an ungrateful, soup drinker and slave catcher.
The thing is, James has not even said that he has left the PNCR or wish to dissociate himself from all that it represents. He simply said that on account of his long years of friendship with President Ali and some of the developmental paths he has pursued, he will support President Ali’s second term. Despite James having not yet pledged general or wider support for the PPP/C, the long daggers came out, unrelentingly. This is his rationale, “The desire for progress is at the heart of President Ali’s government, and I refuse to stand in its way. I urge all Guyanese, regardless of race, political affiliation or any other factor, to support President Ali and his government by giving them the mandate to serve our great country for another term.”
It is my opinion that the poverty of creativity, forethought and political judgment coming from the combined opposition are causing a major exodus towards the PPP/C. What is notable, is that the PPP is responsive to the people from opposing sides who express support. Whichever party I am a part of, I always favour this approach.
I recall, during a joint coalition party meeting in preparation for the 2016 Local Government Elections, I made the point that since Granger was enjoying a near rockstar popularity, all efforts should be made to break the spirit of the PPP/C. I posited that we should go headhunting deep into the PPP. I was floored by the responses. A senior PNC leader retorted, “what’s wrong with you, this is we time now, leave them people alone.” Another top leader, who had no idea what headhunting meant, said he thought I was referring to swiping off heads of political opponents.
Instead of growing the government, the coalition lost several members to the PPP/C simply because there was an air of resistance and unwillingness to entice, encourage or accept members and supporters of the PPP/C. I’ve always thought that it was the most effective way to break morale in the opposition and gain momentum for the next elections. Neither the PNC nor the AFC saw that as a priority. While in government, there were no noteworthy PPP defectors.
Political consolidation, when in government, is a recipe for electoral defeat. The PPP embraced this concept almost religiously, leading to its longevity in government. The momentum is unstoppable. This is not the end; ordinary supporters of the PPP will simply have to follow their leaders and find room to accommodate the tide of opposition activists that will flow into the PPP/C.