-APNU+AFC stirring the same pot, Dr. Jagdeo says

-underscores that PPP not worried about the opposition camp that delivered ‘five years of disastrous performance’

WITH clear signs of trouble showing in the opposition camp, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) General Secretary Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has said that the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) are locked in a self-serving cycle where an obsession with positions over policies reigns supreme.

Dr. Jagdeo on Thursday during a news conference at Freedom House, Georgetown, gave his opinion on the recent chaos that has engulfed the opposition camp.

In a single day, the AFC crumbled under the weight of political infighting, defections, and failed coalition talks. However, it was not alone, as the APNU faced its own battles. Adding to its wave of defections, Member of Parliament Amanza Walton-Desir left the party to form her own political movement.

With the September 1 General and Regional Elections looming, the opposition’s disarray leaves its future hanging by a thread.

Rather than presenting a cohesive vision, Dr. Jagdeo said the APNU and AFC are hinged on opportunistic politicking, with contradicting stories continuously emerging.

“You had a brotherhood in trying to rig elections, you had brotherhood with the disastrous policies of taking away the children’s grant etc… At least get your story straight, and until now, every day as of today, we can’t know what took place; everyone has a different version of what took place in the talks, and who said what, and then they rebut each other openly, all the time,” he said.

The General Secretary also criticised the AFC for being desperate to join the APNU, even with Aubrey Norton as the leader; the same candidate they themselves dismissed as lacking national appeal just weeks ago.

While addressing the constant back-and-forth between the former coalition partners and their airing their dirty laundry in the public domain, the General Secretary said: “But behind all the clownishness and this confusion is a tragedy, and people have to think through it. So, it reinforces our point that all along they were only negotiating about positions…”

SHUFFLING OF THE SAME DECK

The opposition’s strategy appears to be centred around recycling familiar faces rather than broadening their base, the General Secretary pointed out.

He said: “So, what we’ve seen now with the recent configurations in the last couple of days is a recycling of the same people within the same coalition; they just seem to be switching sides… When you are a political party, you look for momentum and growth; you want to bring people to you who are not part of your camp. If you are using people who are traditionally part of your camp to move to another part of your camp, then you’re not really focusing on addition, you’re just, you know, like stirring the same pot.”

Unlike the opposition’s fragmented approach, the PPP’s commitment to results and policies aimed at national development is evident, Dr. Jagdeo noted.

The overwhelming win for the PPP at the last Local Government Elections (LGEs) is a testament to this, he said.

Dr. Jagdeo stated: “In politics, it’s about bringing people to your vision; it’s about convincing people that your vision and your plans for the future of the country and for their lives will be of benefit to them. That is what we have focused on.”

“We are ready in the PPP, not because of arrogance, but because people have seen them and discarded them,” he said.

“Desperation will force them together,” Dr. Jagdeo further opined on the current theatrics within the opposition camp.

The absence of a clear manifesto among the opposition was highlighted by Dr. Jagdeo.

While the opposition continues to squabble over power, the PPP is making inroads and putting in the work, the General Secretary emphasised.