President Ali is growing in political stature

WHEN President Dr. Irfaan Ali took office, the opposition titled him the “installed president” and vowed never to recognise him as the duly elected President of Guyana. President Ali was also called a litany of names that ranged from mild to severe and downright derogatory. The people were being told to hate their president because of the myriad of seeming interpersonal flaws.

Some of the tags and titles were widespread and beginning to sink in to the national psyche. I have not heard him say it but I surmise that some of it must have affected him negatively and somewhat bruised his confidence, if not his ego. Despite these possibilities, President Ali has shown a resilient character not seen in the presidency since the founding of our republic.

Dr. Ali has faced a level of criticism and expression of doubt in his ability to be the nation’s chief administrator that was not faced by any other President in the history of Guyana.
Instead of being rattled by every nitpicking microscopic and sometimes outrageously childish criticisms, he answered his critics with enthusiastic and unfailing political hard work. When they talked, the president acted and his actions were almost always impactful. The fulcrum of the political rewards of his actions lies in his decision to go to the people. People can experience the positive interpersonal qualities of President Ali for themselves. As the effects of his comingle with and among the people set in, the opposition hate campaigns are found wanting for effectiveness.

On December 1, 2018, Michelle Obama made a promotional appearance on Steven Colbert’s Late Show for her book, “Becoming”. In describing sentiments from her book about the level of hate and vitriol hurled towards the Obamas when they first occupied the Whitehouse, she said this: “We learned about our country not through television pundits and news talk shows, we learned about it from meeting people. What we learned is that, in this country there are decent people of all persuasions … when you are in their faces and in their communities, people were kind and gracious … It’s hard to hate up close. It is easier to hate when you are hating a person through a filter. The filter was gone for me and Barack … so we got to see the truth, they got to see the truth and that’s what I try to pass on to people.”

President Ali must have read “Becoming” or has gotten a hunch that is spot on. Do not seek validation in the Facebook influencers, opposition outrages and news pundits. Go to the people, as we say in local parlance, “touch flesh”. In all communities in every quarter of Guyana, he was well received. His popularity has grown and so has his stature.
The hatemongering by the opposition has had the opposite effect on Dr. Ali’s presidency. A general call to hate the president was a resounding failure.

In an effort to try to squeeze a modicum of political reach, the opposition is now calling for Afro-Guyanese to express hatred towards the presidency. An obvious play of the race card, but this too is failing and fading daily. We have two recent evidential examples. First the party delegates at the just concluded 32nd party congress was well represented by Afro-Guyanese who proudly support their president. This congress confirms that PPP is the most popular and racially diverse party in Guyana. The party is firmly set to handsomely win the next general elections. So, congratulations are in order for every organiser, venue manager, decorating hands, financier, service provider, leader and delegate who contributed to making the congress one of the best ever.

The second example is the president’s recent visit to the Afro-dominated Guyanese communities and business district of Brooklyn received overwhelming outpouring of goodwill and support. This angered the opposition elements in North America who called for a boycott of the Afro-owned businesses that gave the president a good reception. This position has now been officially adopted by APNU and endorsed by its leader. Does the Leader of the Opposition really understand the implication of his endorsement of this lunacy? The natural corollary is that every businessman at home and abroad who do not want to be singled out for any form of political retributive treatment should reject any courtesy visit from the opposition leader, point blank.
Because the president elected to filter out the tyke-ish attacks on his presidency and chose instead to mingle with the people, he was able to fuel a growth in his political stature and acceptance across the nation and in the diaspora.

In the end, it’s the people who have to renew his mandate to govern at the next general election, not the social media influencers and hatemongers perched in front of keyboards and in makeshift living room studios preaching hate and doom. The president should continue the Michelle Obama formula – go directly to the local communities, meet people directly where they live and work; up close and personal, silence the keystrokes from afar.