Now that the general elections are over and the political pitch is beginning to offer a more even bounce (far too even in the opinion of many) the PNCR’s Comrade Leader has come out to bat again, opting for a sort of 20/twenty style. Interestingly and for the time being at least he appears to have re-inserted himself at the top of the order after a spell somewhere around the lower middle…..and he chose the gathering of the Party’s recent General Council to stage his second coming. “The PNC has to remain dedicated to the development and emancipation of the working people of this country,” Robert trumpeted. “It must remain vibrant, dynamic and alive.” Spoken like a true Party Leader, Robert! That should get you some attention among some of the comrades except; mind you, there are those who are bound to remain unimpressed. Rhetoric must match reality, Robert! The dichotomy between the two has been the bane of the PNC’s existence.
Check with the Party’s supporters who have been bellyaching for years about how little the Party has been doing to prove that it is still a real political force in the Republic. It’s not just a matter of talking about development and emancipation and vibrancy and dynamism. You have to give real meaning to these slogans. Show your members and supporters a programme. Give them something to believe in! It’s the sense of uncertainty that has caused your own leadership star to pitch.
Now here’s a gem from Uncle Robert. “Without the PNC there could not have been APNU! The mission of the PNC is to continue to rejuvenate and reposition the party as we collaborate in a wider partnership.” Back up Comrade Leader! Let’s have some clarification here. Stop saying No PNC, no APNU! That is clear for all to see. What else are you saying? That the overwhelming majority of the APNU votes at the 2011 elections were PNC votes? We know that too! That the existing coalition is a strategic move on the part of the PNC that probably will not last forever. We know that too. But let’s not pretend that it wasn’t the PNC that was desperately seeking friends prior to the 2011 elections and let’s not pretend too that the semblance of a measure of political coming together to try to topple the PPP/C might not have made a difference to the outcome of the 2011 elections.
What you really should be worrying about, Mr. Corbin, is that while the traditional PNC supporters stuck with the party on November 28 the party cannot really say with a clear conscience that it deserved their support. The PNC has become so enmeshed in its own divisions and factionalism – issues which, we note, came up at the General Council – that putting the party machinery back together and creating an agenda to take the party forward – and here we speak about taking its members and supporters forward with it – that it has little time to deal with the nuts and bolts issues which the people have been crying out about.
Sorry Mr. Corbin; Sudden and startling rhetorical noises won’t cut it. Let the PNC show its supporters what it can do to cause them to begin to believe again. It’s payback time, Robert.
