Conversation Tree

President Obama’s tenure so far has confirmed a fundamental operating principle of Democratic Party politics in the United States – campaign from the left and govern from the middle.

Obama’s campaign attracted the American left (not socialist left as we or Europeans understand the term but liberal left as Americans understand it) in unprecedented numbers. Not many on the left paused to read and analyze what he had written in his autobiography or to consider where he came from, to where he had arrived and how he had travelled. 

Many political commentators decry ethnic voting patterns in Guyana and express despair about change ever taking place. These commentators are mostly inclined to support opposition parties whose desire is to see a change in government which, I hasten to add, is a legitimate objective. Some bemoan the wickedness of the East Indian mind; others the racism of the Government; others still, the wickedness of the people in general. But these commentators bury their heads in the sand and fail to recognize the persistence of ethnic voting patterns almost everywhere else in the world where the electorates consist of different ethnic groups no matter how small or large.

 

The electoral victory of the People’s Partnership in Trinidad and Tobago, the subject of much recent comment in our press, has highlighted the issue of alliance politics which was pioneered by the PPP in Guyana.

The success of the People’s Partnership was based on this creative alliance, decisive leadership and hard work. The failures of governance during the PNM’s terms of office, allegations of corruption, squandermania and arrogant behavior played an important role in diminishing support of the PNM. These factors facilitated a landslide victory for the People’s Partnership. 

Belonging to an organisation carries rights and responsibilities. It brings benefits but imposes duties. A person would normally form a desire to join an organisation for a variety of reasons in the expectation that certain rights or benefits will accrue. The person will no doubt then examine the rules of the organisation to determine whether he/she is prepared to be bound by them. If so, the person may decide to join. I chose to be a part of the PPP and to abide by its rule against public criticism.

Very often members of organisations develop differences with other members or with the executive body. When these differences are on a fundamental principle, then the member is expected to resign. However, once members have a common purpose and are dedicated to the achievement of that purpose, differences are usually resolved. This sometimes happen when the members whose views are not supported accept the decision and continue to work for the common purpose. All leaders of the PPP, like other organisations, do not always agree with all of its decisions. After debate, the minority invariably chooses to accept the majority view and work together for their implementation.

Arriving for the GB20 Summit in Toronto, Canada, President Christina Fernandez of Argentina warned against policies of austerity. AThe focus is absolutely wrong she said. The President explained that policies of cutting deficits and removing stimulus in the midst of a recession were responsible for an Aimplosion in Argentina resulting in a US$100 billion default and one in four Argentinians out of work. It is only when former President Kirschner, the husband of President Fernandez, ignored conventional wisdom and reversed the policies of austerity that the economy stabilized. The Argentine economy has been recovering ever since and is expected to grow by 5 percent this year.