Dear Editor,
I believe that the current political scene confirms that the coalition does not have an outside chance at success in an upcoming national elections. It has only itself to blame for its present state of malaise and absence of appeal.
The coalition group is too tied to the old: old ways, old heads, old visions, old strategies and old tactics. I challenge any Guyanese to enlighten me about what is new about the coalition, which I am certain cannot stand up to sharp scrutiny. It looks and sounds lost; it is lost. Meanwhile, the PPP makes rings around it; I say again that I think that this is helped in large part by the compromised state of the coalition leadership. The lackluster is the new modus operandi; the uninspiring a characteristic feature. This starts at the top, where a strange word makes the rounds. It is ‘unelectable.’ I understand that the current leader is considered unelectable. I totally agree, and with a year already lost, it is late in the day when the opposition should have had some blueprint of what will take it within grasping distance of elections Holy Grail. That is, win.
Though I empathize with where the opposition stands on the ‘unelectable’ state of its leader, I submit that the same is true for Guyana’s sitting president. He also is unelectable, on his own. But I urge Guyanese to examine his place in the pantheon, and how that occurred. Sure, it is joke and embarrassment, but it works; and that is all that matters. As I look at it, and this is only at a cursory level, the coalition has to re-engineer, rebrand, restore, and reinvigorate itself in every sphere of its visions and organization. How to work out a strategy that assists in combating its numerical deficit. How to be rid of a whole crowd of deadwood, which only comes about after engaging in a real 360 self-examination. It cannot be back to the same starting place with the same people and the same listless and useless outlooks. How to build some cross-sectional support-for certainty, an inordinately complex undertaking-by picking its spots wisely. How to shed all the philosophical baggage that burdens the group and leaves it lurching about like an errant dog struck by a truck; we have seen such not knowing what hit it, where it is at, and how to get back on its feet.
Editor, look carefully and that is where today’s coalition is ensnared. In the past. In a lost elections season. In visions that lack coherence, if there is one at all. In leadership that is lacking in sagacity and credibility. In a program or a message of which no one has any idea, if there is actually one. It is apparent that there is some internal dissonance, which must be fixed urgently, and that morale is low. Whether an election is today or four years hence, the coalition, as currently constituted and operational, is out.
Sincerely,
GHK Lall
