Positions from PPP General Secretary BHARRAT JAGDEO Norton adopts ‘bravado’ to make himself look more weighty – PPP GS

Ramblings about a “physical confrontation” from leader of the PNCR and Parliamentary Opposition, APNU+AFC Coalition, Aubrey Norton, were dismissed by General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Bharrat Jagdeo.

Norton on May 18, 2023, said, “I think also it needs to be noted that the government, I spoke with one Government Minister yesterday, whose name I wouldn’t call, and I told him, that government seems to be pushing for a physical confrontation. And to let him know that we are not short on people that could deal with them in a physical confrontation. But we don’t believe it is in the best interests of the people at this time. And therefore, we have said to them, ‘they need to back off’.”

When asked about Nor- ton’s comments during his Thursday (May 25, 2023) news conference, Jagdeo said, “Sometimes I believe that he adopts a certain posture and pursues a certain bravado to make himself look more weighty than he actually is. So, that’s how I dismiss that threat, that it was typically Norton saying ‘We’re ready to fight’, etcetera.”

According to Jagdeo, Norton has never been involved centrally is high-level issues, including policy making, and his move from the “periphery” to “leadership” is evident in the many missteps he makes. “It is hard to move from that level of ignorance due to lack of exposure to dealing with complex matters of state. And it shows every day,” he said.

Pressed further by the media on possible connec- tions between the Norton-led group and unsavoury elements, Jagdeo stressed that he will not speculate on such issue. However he disclosed that all “scenarios” were examined, including a “political” one. He said, “It doesn’t mean that it is real, but as an analyst, particularly in a government, knowing the history of APNU and what happened at Buxton and the close collaboration with the escapees, that would have been one of the scenarios explored by our intelligence operatives. But I’m not accusing him of anything, so I don’t want the headline to say I accused Norton of planning the escape,” he said.

Norton has been battling challenges with questions about his leadership since taking the post in December 2021.