IF an interviewer asked me to employ my decades of studying and writing about the politics of my country to say who I think will succeed Irfaan Ali in 2030, I would bet on Anil Nandlall.
Whoever is the PPP’s candidate in 2030 is going to win the elections for two reasons. One is by 2028 oil revenues are going to be enormous for a small population like Guyana. There will be money to be spent in making Guyana a country of economic and social elevation.
The second reason is that Guyana is not going to have a numerically strong opposition. WIN cannot survive even if by some miracle Azruddin Mohamed remains in Guyana. WIN was a freak storm that blew Guyana’s way in 2025. It will simply die a natural death because money and leadership will not be there. The PNC by 2030 will fizzle out, perhaps winning about three seats. A third player will emerge, but it will not get a large presence in parliament.
From where I stand, I think Nandlall will be Guyana’s next president. When that happens, Nandlall has to spend time reflecting profoundly on why Keir Starmer failed as Prime Minister of the UK after two years, and why Irfaan Ali is so successful. The story of Starmer and Ali is a study in contrast.
The largest defeat the Conservative Party ever suffered was in 2024, when Keir Starmer became Prime Minister. He led the Labour Party to a majority in Parliament of 174 MPS. After two years, Starmer is gone, went in an ignominious way and has become the least popular British Prime Minister in Britain’s history.
What did Starmer do to make him lose support? What has Ali done to cement his legacy? First, Starmer came into politics late in life at age 50. In contrast, Ali was born into a strong PPP family on the WCD in Leonora. I was a personal friend of his uncle, MZ. Ali who, until his death, was one of Janet Jagan’s favourite PPP persons. Experience in politics is a vital factor because it gives you a deep sense of how to manoeuvre in a minefield of complex politics. Ali knew Guyanese politics in a way Starmer did not know British politics.
Secondly, Ali has taught the world of politics how to communicate as a leader of a country. Starmer did not know anything about the art of communication. I will offer two examples in the contrast between Cheddi Jagan and Irfaan Ali as presidents.
President Jagan was giving out houselots to sugar workers in Berbice. Speaking to them in a serious tone, he urged them to take care of what was given to them. If it was Ali, he would have handed the titles to them, tell them the same thing Jagan told them, but then the art of persuasion would have kicked in. Laughing, Ali would have said; “and when you build, don’t forget to invite me.”
If Jagan played a ceremonial game of cricket for a special occasion and he got bowled, he would have laughed and walked. If it was Ai, in a jovial way, Ali would have turned to the umpire and said: “Did you check if that was a no-ball?” This is called the art of communication in politics.
A leader has to know that he cannot remain stiff in office. His citizens want him/her to communicate with them, to talk to them and to make them feel that they do not have an aloof head of government. Starmer could not have reached out to people with the common touch because that was not in his capacity. Guyana knows about how important the common touch is because two of its presidents lacked it completely and both were voted out of office- Desmond Hoyte and David Granger.
Thirdly, personality style is a key factor in preserving the support of the masses. In this context, Ali and Starmer are opposites. Ali got everything thrown at him from 2021. Two popular newspapers – Kaieteur News and Stabroek News, harassed him. Prominent civil society organisations hounded him. Social media did not spare him its wrath.
You do not survive that kind of assault, but Ali did and phenomenally achieved two things- he increased the parliamentary seats of his party in the general election of 2025 and was the first sitting head in an election victory that had more crossover votes in British Guiana and Guyana.
How do you explain this contrast? It lies in a style that the Caribbean gave the world- the personality that combines several personality nuances that endears the nation to the leader. I think Ali has successfully done this. Starmer simply did not have a personality suited to politics.
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.