Being a career diplomat, why was Ms. Harper not appointed to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs when she was eligible? If she is not qualified to be a minister in her field, what makes her qualified to be Prime Minister?
Is there a current Foreign Affairs Minister?
Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. The PPP handed her this portfolio to capture the Amerindian vote in the last elections even though she does not have any experience in the Foreign Affairs field.
So even she would not have been a good choice for PM as some of the guys are suggesting. Politics in Guyana is as screwed up as ever.
Rodrigues-Birkett was in the running to firm up the Amerindian vote as part of a strategy to offset Indo losses to the coalition
the 'hard men' of the PPP apparently decided that a successful 'Amerindian' strategy is ifffy at best in 2015; that, to win, they need to confront the coalition in the Indian community . . . and that the best way to do so is thru a low-road, high-risk, racial appeal
that's why the Harper (innoculating?) choice does not baffle me
Indeed, there is a subtext to the choice of Elisabeth Harper over Carolyn Birkett-Rodrigues who was the popular frontrunner for the PM slot.
One could reasonably suggest that the recently confirmed Granger-Nagamootoo ticket jolted the PPP. Freedom House had been counting on the failure of the APNU-AFC talks. The Cummingsburg Accord forced them to a Plan B.
Having spoiled the political waters in the Amerindian community, the PPP decided not to put up Rodrigues when they would lose the Amerindian vote anyway.
It seems as if the PPP has made up its mind to fight furiously on the coastal belt where it calculates it could get more Afro votes to offset Amerindian losses.
actually, we have a fundamental disagreement
the PPP is not going after Afro votes with the nomination of Elizabeth Harper for PM
i would have, perhaps, taken that proposition seriously if they had gone with a Faith Harding type Afro-Guyanese
