The Coalition has proven itself to be quixotic, Napoleonic, and farcical

Dear Editor,

The demise of the APNU+ AFC reminds me of three situations. The first is to be found in one of the world’s classic novels; the other is recorded in the annals of human history; while the final one has to do with life and the experience of coalition politics.

Let’s take the first, which is Miguel de Cervantes’ ‘Don Quixote de la Mancha ‘Here we have the character Don Quixote who became so enthralled with books about chivalric military exploits and romance that eventually ‘his brain became so dried up that he lost his wits and was unable to separate reality from Illusion and fact from fiction.’ Don Quixote thus set out to engage in his own military exploits by fighting against windmills thinking they were giants only to be knocked off his horse. The moral of the story has much in common with recent political developments in Guyana, where those who once clung to power so tenaciously, and became so caught up in believing in their own mischievous and manipulative inventions, that in the course of so doing they could not distinguish fact from fiction and reality from illusion. They convinced themselves that they were right in whatever they did, but in the end, reality proved they were wrong.

The second has to do with the defeat of Napoleon. Lest it be mistakenly believed that those who just lost power were little Napoleons, this is not the intention. On the contrary, it is more than just the personalities. In what has been described as ‘Powerfully convincing … superb’ by the Financial Times, Frank McLynn notes in his NAPOLEON -A BIOGRAPHY at pp 585 and 587:

‘The allies united both armies and, 180,000-strong, advanced smoothly down the Marne towards Paris. Marmot and Mortier tried to bar the way but were swept aside at La Fere-Champenoise on 25 March. Napoleon meanwhile spent four days in a fool’s paradise at St. Dizier vaguely wondering whether he dared call a ‘people’s war.’ At Fontainebleau, Napoleon had assembled 60,000 troops and was prepared to fight on. But on 4 April a delegation of marshals told him this was no longer an option. Napoleon then had no choice but to write out a conditional abdication.’ Developments on the political and electoral fronts over the past seventy two hours have demonstrated in no small way that the Napoleonic-type ensemble in the APNU+ AFC has reached their Fontainebleau and have no alternative but to concede as a coalition that they have lost the elections.

The third and final episode has to do with APNU+AFC coalition politics. Thus far, Guyana has experienced two episodes of coalition politics. The first in 1964 to 1968 period, and more recently, from 2015 to 2020. Placed on a historical context the first was a tragedy, the second a farce. The APNU+AFC failed to comprehend the possibilities and constraints of the extant historical juncture in which they were operating. Instead, they opted to shape their term in office by their beliefs, desires and practices which was at complete variance with the economic dynamics and democratic practices that had preceded their assumption to office.

They could not grasp the realities and limitations of the power sharing formula they had agreed to, nor establish suitable conflict resolution mechanisms to accommodate rival political or socio-economic interests in the wider society. In effect, consultation, negotiations and compromise was anathema to the coalition. While seeking to enhance their greater share in cabinet posts purely for private reasons and personal gain, leaders in the coalition undermined their integrity and political careers for corrupt purposes, unable to extricate themselves from, and defending each other consumed by the pork barrel syndrome.

What happened with effect from December 21, 2018 onwards, was that the coalition became its own worst enemy, shooting itself in the foot over and over again. This in turn, provided fodder to the political opposition who was only happy to use the fodder as a battering ram to eventually break the back of the coalition administration.

Yours truly,
Clement J. Rohee