THIS is my second assessment of the interview Aubrey Norton gave to Mr. Kadackie Amsterdam of Kams TV (which is not a television station but a podcast). The first take was published on Thursday, June 4, 2026, captioned, “Aubrey Norton expresses his Freudian mind.”
In this piece here, I examine some deceptions that show the deep decline in Norton’s politics.
First, he said he wants the PNC at the moment to be a party of unity and not one in which there are factional quarrels (my words). To emphasize the point, he says when congressional competitions are over, the PNC would unite around its leaders. The facts do not support Norton’s contention.
Mr. Norton has always had troubled relations with PNC leaders and they were never kept away from the public eyes. All of Norton’s quarrels with his leaders were done in full view of the public’s gaze and in all instances, Mr. Norton’s fights weakened the PNC.
When he was contesting the leader position at the last congress against Norton, Roysdale Forde said on the Freddie Kissoon Show that Norton was against partly leaders making public criticism of the party. But Forde went on to say that Norton himself used to do the exact thing that Norton was chastising other PNC leaders for. And the facts are gargantuan.
Party leader Desmond Hoyte sacked Mr. Norton as General Secretary (GS) of the PNC with a statement that has become indelible. Hoyte said that the GS is a creature of the party leader. Party leader, Robert Corbin sued his own executive, Aubrey Norton, for libel for public pronouncements Norton is alleged to have made. The incident was in 2009. Then in 2012, the fight went public again with the Stabroek printing these words over the confrontation: “Norton has had a long-running rivalry with Corbin.”
There were hardly any unity instincts in the PNC, so either Norton is happy to spout fictions or has a faulty memory. Vincent Alexander challenged Corbin for party leader, and the quarrel among the two led Corbin to ask Alexander to resign as a PNC GECOM commissioner. The spat between the two led to Alexander’s resignation from the PNC which was never renewed. James McAllister, who backed Alexander, was recalled from parliament by Corbin.
Party leader, Desmond Hoyte was openly challenged by two of his executives, Deborah Backker and Raphael Trotman. PNC stalwart Dr. Faith Harding, who ran against David Granger for leadership, openly said that the process was not above board. Which party unity Norton is talking about when, as leader, he suffered more public internecine quarrels among his executives than Hoyte, Corbin and Granger?
Mr. Norton in his interview had no clue as to what he was talking about. He said that in 1992 and in 2015 the PNC brought in newcomers, some of whom in 2015 went into parliament, but they proved not to be loyal soldiers because they were not from the bosom of the party (my choice of words). He said you have to be careful with such newcomers.
But if Norton has memory of the unreliability of newcomers to the PNC, how come he chose these newcomers to become MPs who joined the PNC just a month before the 2025 general elections in 2025? What is even more frightening is that Mr. Norton chose not to put one of these newcomers on probation but made him leader of the parliamentary opposition. The gentleman, Terrance Campbell has no experience in parliament, while PNC stalwart, Ganesh Mahipal, does. A sensible thing to do if Norton wanted to elevate Campbell was to announce that he would be understudying Mahipal for a year.
Finally, the mediocrity of the interview went straight to the skies when Norton used two words; “rebuilt” and “consolidate.” The use of these words will allow Norton detractors to pounce on him. But has Norton got any detractors? Not since Burnham has a PNC leader held absolute hegemony over the PNC.
Mr. Norton indicated that he will run again for the leader position, but he thinks the congress slated for this year will be postponed to next year so the party can rebuild and consolidate things. But the reality on the ground shows that the hemorrhaging that began for two consecutive years is continuing. Less than two weeks ago, six big names defected to the PPP including the PNC’s deputy leader. So instead of rebuilding and consolidating, the party is losing its foundation. Not to mention that finance has become a nightmare for the PNC. What Norton is rebuilding and consolidating is something that does not exist, like the Emperor’s new clothes.
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.