WELL, as would be evident to those who follow the fulminations of the Alliance For Change (AFC), the minority parliamentary partner of the main opposition, People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), was up to customary ill-conceived media-grabbing stunts this past week on two fronts:First, the AFC, with five of the 65 seats in Parliament-to the PNCR’s 28 and the PPP/C’s 32-has sent a letter to President Donald Ramotar informing him of its decision to formally move a ‘no confidence’ motion against the Government.
At best, this could be viewed as merely a “declaration of intent,” designed to feed the party’s hunger for grabbing media-headlines in the absence of a known inability to offer serious responses to national issues of importance.
Secondly, the AFC filed a complaint with the Guyana Police Force against Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh for, it claims, acting illegally in spending state funds not authorised by parliament.
Amid speculations of a likely snap general election this year, when the AFC should be engaged in some honest, critical internal assessments of problems of its own creation, it seems more inclined to be obsessed with infantile political propaganda in the media.
It is aware that it could depend on faithful coverage, of whatever political mischief it is up to, in at least the “daily waterfall” which is known for its own disrespect for truth and hatred for the PPP/C-led Government.
For a party whose leadership structure includes members of the local legal profession, the AFC seems prone to falling victim to its own absurd political initiatives and propaganda.
This is now further borne out by both its complaint filed with the police against the Finance Minister and letter to the President of its impending “no confidence” motion against the Government.
Let’s quickly address the latter: For any such “no confidence” motion to be approved against the Government, it would require ALL 33 votes from the opposition benches. This means the entire bloc of PNCR (28) and AFC (5) against the PPP/C’s 32.
It should be noted that up to last week, and prior to the AFC’s letter to the President, there was NO formal consultation or accord on a likely combined “no confidence” motion against the Government by the two Opposition parties. Indeed, the PNCR seems absorbed at present with its own internal affairs that, most importantly, include the party’s forthcoming congress.
So, it seems as if the AFC’s leadership which, incidentally, is NOT known for democratic consultations with the party’s internal structures—at least those that are FUNCTIONING-is engaged in a political game that Trinidadians like to hilariously dismiss as “spinning top in mud.”
Given the ruling by the Chief Justice (ag) Mr. Ian Chang on the Government’s right in relation to the previous 2013 budget, it is quite strange that the AFC’s leader would have adopted his questionable course in complaining the Finance Minister to the GPF-as if Dr. Singh has committed a crime!
But then, for a desperate Opposition party like the AFC, there should be no surprises over its current behaviour. Or, more directly, the immature behaviour of its current “leaders”!