IT has been a busy two weeks of political machinations, salvoes and flurries across the divide. Visa cancellations, parliamentary beatdowns, controversial selfie videos, ministerial adjustments, inflammatory parliamentary conduct leading to the Speaker vacating his seat, revelations about ‘short time’ land titles given to Amerindian communities and taken back within hours by the last administration, lame belated retorts and much more.
A dull moment there has not been. The Guyanese political landscape is hardly ever devoid of action and intrigue. These past weeks have been high-energy and full of lustre. Minister Raphael Trotman’s frontal take down of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on his record as President captivated the country and went viral on social media. There have been varied reactions, but mostly that it was about time the coalition Government shed its nice guy persona and call out Mr. Jagdeo on much of his rhetoric and bluster.
Minister Trotman, a former Speaker of the National Assembly and always measured, reasoned and even keeled had had enough after the Opposition Leader had made an unscheduled intervention in the parliamentary debate and sought to inject extraneous issues and ‘lecture the house.’ It was this self-righteous pontification and indignation which soured the evening and stirred Minister Trotman into unleashing and raining verbal body blows on the beleaguered Mr. Jagdeo. It was one of the most gripping performances in the National Assembly in recent history. It transported one back to the days of legendary interaction in the National Assembly between the political giants of the past.
Minister Trotman questioned how Mr. Jagdeo could have the temerity to lecture the coalition Government on good governance, when his own record on this score was far less than stellar, to state the case as mildly as one can manage.
Several examples of executive ineptitude were placed on record, including the failed Skeldon Sugar Factory, a US$200,000,000 white elephant which has been presenting unending troubles to the administration. What was revealing is that the usually boisterous Opposition MPs were stunned into silence. From the facial expressions, particularly of frontbenchers, deposed PPP General-Secretary Clement Rohee and Dr. Frank Anthony, it appeared as though they both had to restrain themselves from erupting into applause as Minister Trotman unfurled knockout punch after knockout punch against Mr. Jagdeo.
One wonders if the implications of this are with regard to the internal issues with the opposition PPP. Other opposition frontbenchers who are known for their abrasive antics, petulance and incessant heckling, hardly uttered a word throughout Minister Trotman’s delivery and were left looking to their bruised and battered leader for guidance. None was forthcoming and Minister Trotman prevailed triumphantly on the evening as he wrapped up the debate on the Petroleum Commission Bill.
The usually hyper-active PPP remained in silence for several days, then belatedly the Opposition Leader emerged licking his wounds and attempted a few jabs to exact a measure of revenge. By this time the public had long concretised the view that Minister Trotman had, though belatedly, put Mr. Jagdeo to his place for his two-year-long misinformation and disinformation campaign. Comments flooded social media which hailed and heralded Minister Trotman for putting a stop to the opposition tirade and fact-free onslaught, while calling for this approach to be more enthusiastically embraced in the future.
It is advice worth considering.
