We knew it would have happened sooner than later – the call for street protests to bring down the government. Hey!! It happened in Egypt and the government was removed by the army, weren’t they? That’s the kind of thinking that passes for political analysis by the Alliance For Change (AFC). The entire leadership core of the AFC is essentially the lunatic fringe of the Guyanese political class. But it’s now obvious that some are more lunatic than others.
I mean, here you have an opposition in control of the Parliament – which forces the government to bow to its whims by chopping whole sections of the budget and they have to come out into the streets??? But when you think about it, there’s a method to their madness. And as is usual in politics…it’s about votes for power.
They boasted, through some cockamamie poll they tried to foist on the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), that in the next elections, they’ll end up with 27 per cent of the votes. From the breakdown, they clearly expect their increase to come from both the PPP/C and the People’s National Congress (PNC). The call by Nigel Hughes for protests in Georgetown is designed to go after A Partnertship for National Unity (APNU)/PNC urban votes.
They’re going for the jugular. Their brain trusts (read Freddie Kissoon) believes APNU’s more responsible politics — where they’re looking at Guyana’s stability via the old confrontational politics — leaves them alienated from the street elements. From David Hinds’ mumblings, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) (all four members!!) also are of this view.
Frankly, we don’t see the AFC mobilising any effective protests in Georgetown. People have common sense. Whatever differences our politics have produced, the system is working to address them. Maybe not as quickly as some desire. But they know that “one one dutty build dam”. Throwing a whole ton of “dutty” in street protests will just make our politics (not to mention our streets) dirtier.
It could also mean that the AFC’s ultra-crazy fringe is trying to intimidate the PPP/C ahead of their August Congress in Berbice. But we believe their gambit will backfire on them big time. Most Guyanese are becoming house owners and getting on with their lives – they’re not going to risk their gains being wiped out by street protests that will certainly become violent.
But then it could just mean that Hughes is making a grab for the AFC leadership by courting the four WPA grey-haired radicals. What say you Khemraj Ramjattan?
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