… of the PNC?
Is it me, Dear Reader, or do you also have the feeling that Granger has once again gone into hibernation, just when his troops need him most? Didn’t he notice that their performance in the National Assembly in the Budget “Debate” was more like the Charge of the Light Brigade back in the day.
As a military historian, he’d remember that none of the poor sods emerged alive, much less unscathed!! Quite a lot of his MPs must be asking about the point of the drubbing and your Eyewitness just hopes Granger doesn’t tell them, “Yours is not to reason why; yours is but to do or die!!”
But what’s it with Granger?? He was picked out of the blue to lead the PNC precisely because kingmakers like Corbin figured that in addition to his sanctimonious mien, he’d led the GDF for donkey years. They assumed he’d be able to transfer the skill set from the latter gig into the realm of politics. Some assumption!! Reminds your Eyewitness of the old saw: When you “ass-u-me”, you make an ass out of you and me!! The kingmakers must certainly feel like asses now!
The thing is, they forget that Granger had never been into battle in his FORTY YEARS in the army!! Not at the Venezuelan Border at Eteringbang nor the New River Triangle over on the Suriname border. His involvement in the Rupununi Uprising doesn’t count – that was just a walkover over some misguided locals. Didn’t even come close to the escaped prisoners who camped out in Buxton and called themselves “African Freedom Fighters”!! You could tell what kind of soldier Granger was when he vehemently insisted that soldiers shouldn’t have been sent into Buxton to take on the Bandits!!
Thing is, if he’d gone into battle, he might’ve learnt to deal with defeats. After all, one of the things leaders learn is that you don’t sulk after a setback!! His troops are looking to him for advice and motivation to get on with the programme and if you’re not there, they end up being just an aimless mob. And that’s what the PNC MPs looked like in Parliament last week. It was pathetic: after every sitting, most of the young ones (are there any old ones left standing?) came out of the ACCC like deer at night caught in a headlamp.
If the PNC is not to disintegrate – and this wouldn’t be good for Guyana since it’ll leave the door open for the looney tunes crowd – it needs to settle the leadership issue.
Maybe a special Congress can be convened for Volda to duke it out with Granger!
…the Opposition?
OK…so if Granger’s doing his Greta Garbo act, what’s going on with his unilaterally-appointed Leader of the Opposition, Col (ret’d) Joseph Harmon?? He certainly didn’t provide any leadership to the neophytes that had also been selected by Granger. Is he also over his head like Granger or is he still shell-shocked at Volda pulling the rug out from under him after his incendiary outburst at West Berbice?
Well, now he knows what it is to lead when the troops can’t be court-martialled if they refuse to follow orders!! Let your Eyewitness lay this down as clear as he can: Harmon’s not the person to lead the PNC at this critical moment of his history. The party is in as great crisis as it was in 1957 when Burnham PPP(B) was drubbed by Jagan’s PPP(J) and was forced to form the PNC by merging with all sorts of disparate elements.
Then, it was division in ideology – “left to right” – and now it’s divisions caused by a crude power grab.
By a viper!
…for a COVID greeting?
Your Eyewitness couldn’t help noticing that everyone from the Guyanese side fell into Pompeo’s “elbow bump” greeting. So what happened to the greeting from our multicultural heritage the world’s now adopting.
