‘Arrogance and complacency cost the PPP last year’s elections,’ screamed the headline in Stabroek News of January 1, reporting on the year-end press conference of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, now Leader of the Opposition. He is reported to have said that “there was a severe disconnect between the party and its supporters on the ground” resulting in APNU and AFC “gaining footholds among PPP supporters.” He attributed this to the PPP’s 
complacency and arrogance and vowed to work hard to strengthen the party by going “house to house to people right across this country and rebuilding a connection between them and the party.” Mr Jagdeo spoke about the youth being enticed by the coalition because they lacked knowledge of the PNC’s past and the need for the party to work “vigorously to incubate a new generation of youthful leaders.”
The single-minded support by Mr Jagdeo of Mr Donald Ramotar as the presidential candidate in 2011 was one of the worst displays of contempt and political arrogance in Guyana’s political history. The compelling obsession to continue to exercise governmental authority and control was the sole motivating factor. The PPP leadership, in thrall to Mr Jagdeo, mistakenly felt that its