EMBATTLED PCNR TO DISCUSS LEADERSHIP ISSUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L GEORGETOWN 001180 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/08/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM GY SUBJECT: EMBATTLED PCNR TO DISCUSS LEADERSHIP ISSUES Classified By: AMBASSADOR DAVID M. ROBINSON FOR REASON 1.4(D) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Persistent rumors that leader Robert Corbin is on his way out, as well as a public airing of complaints by some members of the party's youth arm, have recently dogged the opposition People's National Congress Reform (PNCR). After its dismal election showing, the PNCR appears to have passed out its meager winnings to the usual party bigwigs, losing the chance to launch the party's next generation of leaders. As the PNCR flounders in the public eye, Corbin has said that leadership will be an important theme at the party's General Council Meeting on November 18. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) A recent spate of letters to the editor by members of the PNCR's youth wing, the Guyana Youth and Student Movement (GYSM),reveal simmering discontent among some of the PNCR's younger members. The GYSM's main grievance is that after trumpeting the party's Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) and focusing on youth issues during the campaign, the PNCR failed to name any GYSM members to the National Assembly. Faced with a reduced allotment of seats, the PNCR's backward-looking need to dole out rewards to longtime party faithful seems to have trumped its forward-looking need to cultivate the party's future leaders. Highlighting the opacity of the selection process for National Assembly members, Corbin refused to reveal the PNCR's "methodology" for naming its representatives, telling GYSM members that they were free to "ask questions in the right forum." ¶3. (SBU) Both the ruling People's Progressive Party/CIVIC (PPP/C) and the opposition Alliance for Change (AFC) have been more successful in reaching out to youth. While the PPP/C certainly took care of its longtime stalwarts, the relatively youthful Jagdeo also appointed younger party members to ministerial positions. Frank Anthony, the head of the PPP's youth arm, the Progressive Youth Organization (PYO),was appointed Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport. With its upstart image, young leaders, and advocacy of fundamental change to Guyana's ethnically polarized political and social fabric, the AFC appealed directly to younger voters interested in bucking the status quo. ¶4. (SBU) Corbin has been unable to shake rumors that he is on the way out. The Stabroek News carried a story on October 24 reporting that Corbin did not intend to run for party leadership at the PNCR's Biennial Congress next year, and did not want to be the party's presidential candidate in 2011. Although the PNCR vigorously refuted the story, the newspaper's sources stuck to their claim. ¶5. (SBU) Corbin has said that party leadership issues will be up for discussion at the upcoming General Council meeting on November 18. In press reports, Central Executive Committee (CEC) members deflected attention from Corbin himself toward broader issues of party governance and strategy. CEC member Jerome Khan said that the party's defeat had "nothing to do with Corbin's baggage." According to CEC member Aubrey Norton, "if the party as an institution is functioning properly with all the mechanisms in place, it matters little who is, and who isn't the leader." ¶6. (C) Comment: Corbin may not be helping his party's cause, but the PNCR's problems certainly extend beyond his leadership. The party has yet to articulate a coherent strategy going forward, and seems to have postured itself in survival mode instead of investing in its next generation of leaders. End Comment. ROBINSON