US-based medical doctor and political commentator Dr Arthur Kennedy has advised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to keep former President Nana Akufo-Addo away from the party’s public activities.
Speaking on Starr FM after the NPP’s delegates conference in Kumasi, Kennedy said the party could learn from how political parties in the United States have treated leaders after major electoral defeats.
“Everybody who has studied political history knows that when such things happen in the US, for example, when you come to 1932 after the Republican candidate Hoover lost, he was never seen at a Republican event again. In 1980, after Carter lost, the Democrats sidelined him,” Kennedy said.
He also cited former US Vice President Kamala Harris, saying some Democrats now prefer not to prominently feature her because “the public blames or associates them with significant failures.”
Kennedy, however, distinguished his criticism of Akufo-Addo’s presidency from his personal view of the former president.
“I think that Nana Addo is a fine man, but he was a bad president,” he stated.
He compared Akufo-Addo’s current standing with that of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, saying Kufuor continues to enjoy a positive public image years after leaving office.
Kennedy said the NPP could still seek Akufo-Addo’s advice privately but should avoid presenting him as a public representative of the party.
“If I was giving the NPP advice, I will say that one of the foundational things is to sideline Nana Akufo-Addo, not because you shouldn’t consult him privately- you should- but as a public face of the party, it’s a mistake,” Kennedy said.
