THE PPP IS NOT INTERESTED IN A GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY
The People’s Progressive Party is not interested in joining any government of national unity. The PPP in its present formation is not interested at all in any such formulation.
The PPP is only interested in regaining power. It feels that under the leadership of Bharrat Jagdeo it will win any future free and fair elections. What it fears is whether APNU+ AFC will allow such elections.
The PPP was never interested in any government of national unity. It won in 1992 and dumped the idea. Despite the baptism of fire and violence that greeted the ascension to power of Bharrat Jagdeo in 1999, the PPP was never interested in a government of national unity.
Even after the PPP lost its parliamentary majority in 2011, it still frowned on a government of national unity. There is no reason to indicate that the PPP will be interested in such an idea now.
The idea of a government of national unity is alien to the PPP. It sees national unity as different from a government of national unity. The latter it seems, as a means of other parties forcing themselves onto the PPP and trying to nudge the PPP out of power- that was when it had power.
The PPP therefore is highly suspicious of a government of national unity. The leadership of the PPP is not interested in that idea because it is a difficult concept to wrap itself around.
It does not help when those who speak about national unity to do not explain what they mean by this concept and how it is expected to be implemented. There is too much vagueness and cloudiness around this idea of a government of national unity.
The history of Guyana has been that people speak a great deal about a government of national unity when they are in the opposition. But when they get into power they are not keen to relinquish or share that power with others. This is why we are not going to see any serious attempt to have a government of national unity.
There will only be token gestures at achieving national unity through the usual meetings and talks but there is nothing to convince anyone that even APNU or the AFC is serious about a government of national unity.
How is the ruling coalition going to be serious about national unity when there were serious divisions within the coalition over the violations of the Cummingsburg Accord which brought APNU and the AFC together?
The PPP protested the results of the elections. The environment was therefore not conducive just after the elections for any overtures to the PPP to join the government. But there was never any convincing evidence that the coalition government was serious about having the PPP join the government. You cannot have a government of national unity by consultation. It has to be by participation and the PPP was never invited to be part of any government.
The PPP leadership has a deep hatred for the leaders of the AFC who were formerly from the PPP. These persons have been the object of the PPP’s venom on the campaign trail. They have been personally attacked on the political campaign more than any other persons from the coalition. The PPP therefore has bad blood against its defectors who have joined the AFC.
It was therefore shocking to learn that the new government has appointed one of the AFC’s leaders to have talks with the PPP on the issue of national unity. APNU cannot be serious.
The PPP leadership will not meet with this individual. There is too much bad blood between the two sides and therefore this appointment is recipe for failure. Nothing will come of the talks because there will be no talks. The PPP will not meet with the appointed, not now and not in the next five years.
The PPP is not interested in a government of national unity. They are not interested in any form of unity at the level of politics.
The main and sole objective of the PPP now is to regain power. The PPP is no pushover. The PPP won six of the ten regions in the last elections. It has geographical reach in this country. It is a strong party. It will sweep local government polls whenever it is held. Nothing can stop the PPP from winning those elections.
Nothing either can stop them from ignoring any request that is made for national unity talks with the government. The PPP is simply not interested.