Since their loss at the May 11, General and Regional elections the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has been plagued with a series of internal problems mainly around the legacy of former president Cheddi Jagan and the management style of leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo.
“There is division yes… First there was the pointing of fingers and the blaming and look nearly six months after and they [members] still can’t adjust and put aside personal feelings,” a source told Stabroek News.
“Bharrat speaks as if he alone is the PPP and anyone who he feels is against his policies and decisions he shuts them down and no one is bold enough to stand in his face… Well, it is reason I am talking to you like this [anonymously],” the source went on to add. Though Jagdeo is not the formal leader of the party, political analysts said the former president is the de facto leader. The clear evidence of this was his election as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. PPP General Secretary Clement Rohee, who by virtue of this position would technically be the leader of the PPP, is second to Jagdeo in Parliament. Analysts point out that Jagdeo has not been known to brook dissent and his recent overruling of Rohee on the question of the salary increases for ministers was an example of this.
When former president Donald Ramotar was questioned by Stabroek News on the stability of the party, he signalled that all was not well but that current members had the country’s best interest at heart. “I wouldn’t say that all is well in the party in the sense that everything is honky dory because there is still a lot of soul searching to do and still a lot work to do to reorganize still a lot of things that needs to be done in the party itself,” he said.
A party source explained that many of “fallouts” at the Executive and Central Committee level “come back to arguments on what founder of the PPP Dr Cheddi Jagan would have wanted or done.” However, the source said, one top executive was annoyed by the frequent analogies and had snapped at one meeting, “Dead men can’t speak!” and that the decision they made was good enough.
During the 2015 election campaign, Jagdeo and Ramotar were pilloried by the opposition and some former PPP figures for straying from what were termed ‘the Jagan ideals’.
Ramotar was asked about the public’s opinion that party had strayed away from Cheddi Jagan’s ideals. He opined that while criticisms may be many that the party has strayed away from the principles of its founder Dr Cheddi Jagan and that people feel this was the main reason for the elections loss, this was not so. He said evidence is there to show that “Jagan’s ideals” are reflected, especially in the social policy and poverty alleviation strategies of the party.
“I think the criticisms are more superficial in the general sense as the party remains the party fighting for social justice for all our people. Our position has not changed as a national party fighting for racial and working class unity,” Ramotar said.
“Look at the delivery of our social services. Look at education how much we have done. We put education right back on top in the Caribbean basically. We have invested in our people, so much we have done all within the principles of Cheddi Jagan.”
However, Ramotar pointed out that on the issue of PPP/C ministers’ lifestyles, the image they gave the public was important as everyone knew Cheddi Jagan was humble and would have expected simplicity from them. “With lifestyles, that may be another thing because everyone knew Cheddi had a very simple life and was a very modest man who led by example. Maybe he could have afforded to live better but he chose to live the way he did,” he said. But the former president pointed out that he does not want his party to be judged by the “quite a few posh homes” and lavish lifestyles that some former ministers had.
He said that in the latter days of the party’s rule there was a level of complacency and this could have possibly led to their defeat as more groundwork should have done. “We should have done more but in the same breath it does not mean we are not doing. I won’t deny there was some level of complacency developed in the party and this is after being in government for quite a while. I won’t deny that. Yes, I agree we could have done more. I concede we could have done more… the bottom house meetings, meeting the masses and so forth. We could have done more of it but that doesn’t mean we did not do.
“Cheddi Jagan did it [won elections] and did it without the media help, no radio no TV…,” Ramotar asserted.
The PPP/C eventually lost the elections by only 4,000+plus votes which analysts said was mainly due to the race-laced invective of Jagdeo on the campaign trail which brought out more of the political base to vote in 2015 than in 2011.
A source said the party is now reflecting, at all levels, where the disconnect with the populace came and even now is re-strategizing as it wants to ensure a countrywide win in the upcoming local government elections (LGE).
“We working up for local government. Mind you, we believe we won the general elections but we are working up, yes back on the ground for everyone, because the win at LGE must be so huge it will open the APNU and AFC’s [eyes],” the party source stressed.
