Now that David Patterson is to remain as the AFC GS, and now that the dust has settled on the AFC/APNU row over the Reg 4 vice-chairmanship, is the AFC going to now focus on rebuilding its brand? Since its launch just before the 2006 elections, the party grew into a genuine third force, not seen since The United Force in its prime. Is the party looking to re-engage the people who once believed it offered a genuine third path, a fresh political outlook? The party’s very political survival depends on it taking urgent and profound stock of its core beliefs and modus operandi. CONPOV will watch to see if the AFC has what it takes to undo the damage it has suffered through its own ineptitude in allowing itself to be branded by the PPP as being responsible for the plight of sugar workers. So far, we have not seen enough signs. But this is an issue to watch.