I NEVER thought President Granger knew about politics as he settled down into the presidency. As the months and years went by, I was convinced that together with Bernard St. John in Barbados, George Chambers in Trinidad and George Walter in Antigua, David Granger joined those three as being the most self-effacing, mediocre government leaders CARICOM produced.

The one thing I will give Granger credit for is that he was conscious of his limitations and facilitated Joseph Harmon’s election as the de facto president. Mr. Granger was not familiar with some elementary rules of politics.
I’ll give just one example. A certain big wig in the AFC went to President Granger to explore life outside of the AFC and life with the government. Instead of having a serious personal chat with the gentleman, Mr. Granger

invited a complete stranger to the AFC guy (an Office of the President bureaucrat) to monitor the conversation. The AFC cadre told me he was uncomfortable throughout the meeting.
After five years of stubborn refusal to speak about anything relating to the APNU+AFC government, Mr. Granger gave an interview with the Kaieteur News last week and saw it fit to lecture Guyanese on politics. On reading

what he said, I remember Shakespeare in his play, “Measure For Measure:
‘But man, proud man,
Drest in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he’s most assur’d”

Let’s quote Granger on the stalled dialogue between the PNC and AFC: “Much has been heard about personalities but little about policies.” Granger was clear that in coalition talks between the PNC and AFC, personalities should take back seat to policy enunciations. There are two comments on this position of Granger. One is personal to Granger regarding the 2020 election campaign, the other is theoretical.
In February 2020, Mr. Granger brought a White British consultant to advise him on the election campaign. David Granger is a frenetic aficionado of Forbes Burnham. During his presidency, he set up four foundations in his private home in honour of Burnham. Yet Granger couldn’t find one African man or African-led organisation to guide the PNC’s campaign.

Today, no one in the PNC or AFC has ever briefly alluded to this British consultant. None of the AFC personalities I asked could remember his name. Even Dominic Gaskin cannot when I asked him on the Freddie Kissoon Show except to say the guy talked a lot of nonsense. Now, what was the advice the gentleman gave to Granger?

The man’s position was outlined at a meeting at State House (a party affair should not have been held at a government building) in front of the central executive committee of the PNC and the entire executive of the AFC. So there are about 50 persons still around in Guyana who have a memory of that meeting and they would know what was the core point of the man.

The man told the State House gathering that the election campaign must emphasise Granger, the leader, Granger, the personality. The British consultant made it clear to the attendees that the campaign should not emphasise the slogan of PNC presidential candidate and AFC prime ministerial candidate. After that, there were no APNU+AFC posters featuring the visages of Granger and Khemraj Ramjattan as a montage.
Now for the theoretical comment on Mr. Granger’s repudiation of emphasis on personalities in the dialogue between the PNC and AFC at the moment. In politics, before the internet and social media, charisma played a crucial factor in electoral competition worldwide. Charisma and the power of the personality in this age of social media are the factors that can play a huge role in winning power.

It is ironic that Granger can downplay the magical and enticing role of the powerful figure in politics. Granger saw how one man mesmerised people because that one man had panache, attractiveness, and charisma. That one man was Cheddi Jagan. That one man was Forbes Burnham. That one man was Walter Rodney. Walter Rodney for all his national reach could not outdo Rupert Roopnaraine. The WPA in the 1970s was Rodney and Roopnaraine and they had staying power because of the power of the personality.

Politics in the world will have to live with the indispensability of charisma. That is today’s reality, and Guyana is no different. There is no one in Guyana like Irfaan Ali. This is a unique personality whose aura attracts people. With Irfaan Ali around, it is difficult to see how the PPP can lose the 2025 poll. As for Aubrey Norton, Granger needs to tell him ASAP, “stand down maan!”

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.