We are almost a year out since the general election, which saw the JLP’s mammoth seat count become a slim one. The election saw the PNP whittle down the JLP’s seat count and showed that with a bit of unity, the party could stand as a viable choice for the people. This should have been the beginning for the party, a failure to capture Gordon House but still a chance to show the country they mean business.
Instead, the PNP has used the opportunity to show that, far from being ready for the big time, they are barely able to manage the little league. The PNP has stumbled from one gaff to another, displaying immaturity and naivety of the highest level.
Constitutional reform is one major area where the opposition has let the country down. When parliament resumed following the elections, a call was made for the PM to meet Mark Golding to discuss constitutional reform. Andrew stated that such discussions should take place with the relevant ministry; the opposition disagreed, and the matter was again put on hold. In June Minister Chuck sent out another appeal asking for the stalled process to be resumed. Now, months later, the PNP are again calling for talks to be resumed on the country becoming a republic.
The opposition has dropped the ball big time on this. They should have taken the high road and met with Minister Chuck, reopened the talks on constitutional reform and included the people in consultation. Instead, we got an opposition focused on scoring political points by embarrassing the government or making it seem as if it is they who are obstructive. The election is over; you lost. The PM has said to speak to the relevant minister to get the ball rolling, so that is where the matter should end. Instead of acting like the government, the party which won the election and is thus able to dictate terms, acknowledge that you lost and use the time to canvass the people and include their ideas in what constitutional reform should look like.
Anti-corruption is another area in which the party has managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Corruption is a specter which haunts this administration, be it ministers on trial, ministers having failed to spot the corruption in their respective departments, or ministers and MPs under investigation by the Integrity Commission, allegations of corruption dog this administration. This should be easy pickings for the opposition, as Mark Golding, while viewed as boring and bad at politics, is seen as not being corrupt.
That blew up in his face when one of his MPs’ companies became embroiled in the UHWI scandal. The company led by the PNP MP was involved in illegally circumventing import duties by using its connections with the hospital. Instead of immediately condemning this and banishing the offending member from PNP activities till he sorted it out, he has been left in play, defended at times, and allowed to remain a PNP member in good standing. It would seem the hope is that it will die a natural death via Parliament investigation, but I do not think so, and Mark’s failure to act early will come back to bite him in the rear end.
As if all that was not enough, over the past few weeks, the nation has been rocked by leaked voice notes of PNP members discussing how to oppose the governments mega project NaRRA. As they mused about how to oppose it, members discussed how they will not be able to gum up the works by stalling it in local government through delay tactics. It was also discussed that the head of NaRRA, Antony Anderson, is a man to whom the stench of corruption does not attach itself, so they need to ensure that the public understands he was responsible for the handling of the Melissa funds as a way to sully his name.
Instead of condemning this as old-time politics, Mr Golding and by extension the PNP have said that the discussions included no PNP executives and that what was discussed is not PNP policy. That is not enough. A full-throated condemnation of it is needed as the damage done extends far beyond the PNP. Anyone who now challenges the flawed agency will be labeled as a PNP lackey. Anyone who questions operations will be accused of having bought into the PNPs propaganda. The damage done is incalculable and calls for greater response from the PNP president.
What the PNP can ill afford is a leadership challenge. The party still has not fully healed from the brutal Portia v Peter battles that rocketed for over a decade and the Bunting v Hanah proxy battles that took place following the retirement of Portia and the loss suffered by Phillips.
Instead of using this time to heal the party and get it in fighting shape to show the nation that it’s business takes precedent over inter party squabbles, the party it seems has begun a whole new civil war. With Mark Golding looking more and more like a person in the political departure lounge, Bunting and Crawford have emerged as potential challengers for the PNP leadership. If Mark had it his way Bunting would get it, but he is not universally loved in the party the same way as is Crawford.
But with Bunting having available an amount of cash that we cannot even begin to fathom, he can make any battle for leadership a costly and lengthy one. The party does not need this. As an outsider, the party needs to come together and select the consensus candidate and fall behind them. They do not realize that the country is bored of their internal struggles and will only vote them back in once they see a party that is united and singing from the same hymn sheet as opposed to sniping at each other.
Finally, we have the PNP and their lackluster response to the matter surrounding the TCN MOU signed between the US and Jamaican governments. The PNP have not stated how they would operate differently from the government who has the excuse of saying they have to manage a live situation. Is the PNP opposed to the deal? Are they stating that if in office they would not sign it? What would they do regarding US pressure and threats?
It is easy to sit outside of power and criticize, but the job of the opposition is to provide tangible alternatives to what the government is offering. Instead of that we have an opposition grandstanding and taking the easy way out. We all know that going against the US will come at a cost. Is the Opposition willing to pay the cost if they become government and are they willing to subject the people to such punishment when it is dished out? We simply do not know and that is the issue.
The PNP has come a long way since the dark days of Dr Phillips but they are not in the land of sunshine yet. They can still destroy themselves and seem hell bent on doing just that. For the sake of the country I hope they come to their senses as we can ill afford more PNP pain and drama.
