Dear Editor,
A recent letter about Mr Nagamootoo, is indicative of the horse race which is developing in the top echelons of the ruling party, the PPP; a horse race which is bound to create friction in the party between the contending ‘runners.’ Imagine that these contenders are not willing to compete in an open way, by letting the supporters of that party make their choice in a nationwide debate and contest which is open and for all to see. No, Editor, their communist orientation will not allow that because they are afraid of the Obama phenomenon, which can catapult a lower-ranking person in the PPP to the top position, based on the peoples’ will. Instead, these top members will decide who gets the prize by meeting behind closed doors with their central committee and executive, while leaving out the regular folks who are really the spine and backbone of the PPP.

The list for President will grow, I am sure, in the next few months, and it’s anybody’s guess who will eventually get the nod, however, I can assure the public that it would not be Moses Nagamootoo or Ralph Ramkarran. Politics is not for half-steppers, and that is exactly why  Mr Nagamootoo could never be the  presidential candidate for the PPP. He made a move a couple of years back in criticizing those who were stronger than him in the PPP and when the pressure hit, he backed down and held his silence to this day, waiting for his chance. He waited too long and now, it’s too late, because there are too many people at the top in the back room who make decisions, who just don’t trust or like him.

His only chance is to go to the bottom level PPP supporters and ask them to support his candidacy, but that is not feasible because of the party rules. It would violate ‘democratic centralism,’ a political Trojan Horse, which, unfortunately, Moses believes in – so scratch Moses. His horse broke down before it entered the starting gate.

Mr Ramkarran lost his chance because of Moses’s open challenge to his credibility for the presidential slot in 1997 (ask Moses or anyone at that crucial Freedom House meeting in 1997, when Mr.Ramkarran walked out of the meeting), and he’s never recovered from that debacle in the eyes of those in control of the PPP. He has been out of touch with the rank and file of the party and hence can get no real leverage from that source. His constant ramblings and his recent interview with Christopher Ram on national TV, where he failed to answer many direct questions by parrying Mr Ram with irrelevance and vague responses, shows his lack of statesmanship and cognition of what the citizens see as a leader.

The Speaker of the House position he accepted years ago also sealed his fate as far as being president is concerned, because the Speaker’s job in  the majority of countries really leads nowhere politically. Scratch Ramkarran’s horse because it can’t even get out of the paddock area to go to the starting gate because it knows that the race for him is already over.

Editor, that leaves Mr Rohee, Mr Ramotar, Dr Anthony and Mr Robert Persaud as the main contenders, and as far as I see it’s anybody’s guess which one of these gentlemen will be the chosen one to lead the PPP in 2011. Time will tell, but they will all have to face a growing number of sceptics both inside and outside the PPP as the working people of Guyana come under more pressure from rising prices and low-paying jobs. Whoever is the one chosen via the back-room politics of the PPP, democratic changes for the country (constitutional changes in particular) will not be on the horizon because none of the four individuals mentioned above has shown himself to be a reformer, even within the PPP.

The selection process of the ruling party does not involve the mass of supporters who want reform, change and new directions, so a reformer (like Obama) will never surface to lead the PPP; instead, we’re stuck with the same old, same old…

Yours faithfully,
Cheddi (Joey) Jagan (Jr)