Hijacking the Constitution

André Wright, Acting Opinion Editor

THERE IS plenty of fodder for sceptics who believe that Gordon House is a playground of political opportunism, with the electorate merely a means to an end. The politicians' end.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding may have reinforced that disillusionment with his admission Tuesday that he elevated the interests of his governing Jamaica Labour Party and, some may perceive, his own ambitions to emerge from the shadows of being a political bridesmaid, above the primacy of the Constitution.

Mr Golding said his accommodation of some members of his Government - Everald Warmington, Shahine Robinson, Michael Stern, Gregory Mair and Daryl Vaz - was strategically to ward off the simultaneous ejection of the Furtive Five and the collapse of his administration. In other words, the Government staggered the process of attrition for self-preservation. Political expedience was the name of the game.

He argued, "That (wholesale exit of the five) would be a technical way of defeating the will of the people, as expressed in the elections on September 3, 2007. ... It had to be handled in a particular way."

Of course, the prime minister hasn't explained, "technically", how he determined the will of the people to have been endangered if the very basis of that will was falsely informed. Now the very legitimacy of the Government could be questioned.

That warmonger

Mr Golding's sentiments echoed those of Everald Warmington, the latest casualty of this costly melodrama. That Mr Warmington believes he has not acted unethically by collecting taxpayers' money three and a half years into his trespass of Parliament's hallowed hall is, perhaps, not surprising. He is well known for his penchant for petulance, and his propensity to descend into grandstanding tirades and fits of histrionic harrumphing has often browbeaten the press, his political opponents and even his own parliamentary colleagues into submission. But the former South West St Catherine MP must not be allowed to get away with thinking he can simply bellow - as he did on CVM TV on Tuesday, shouting, "Go to hell!" - and all will melt in fear.

The latest twist provides some insight into the psychology of the political animal spawned by our brand of parliamentary democracy, where cunning and brinkmanship are essential to the survival of the fittest.

But Mr Golding must be subjected to a higher bar of accountability than Mr Warmington. For a reasonable person could conclude that the prime minister's machinations, as he admitted Tuesday, point to a calculated plan to hijack the Constitution of Jamaica as he played a dangerous - and expensive - game of chess to hold on to power. The upshot: More than $100 million of taxpayers' money - culled from low-paid garbage collectors to hotshot bankers - has been frittered away in rerun constituency polls. And it's uncertain whether the South West St Catherine by-election will cost less than the $19 million expended in Shahine Robinson's contest with Devon Evans.

Law is law

To be clear, the merit of constitutional proscription of MPs' dual allegiance, except under the umbrella of the Commonwealth, is subject to debate and, perhaps, revision. But the fact of the matter is that the law is the law. Unless it is that Mr Golding shares the view of former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson that the law - or the Constitution, in Mr Golding's case - is not a shackle. It is also reasonable to assume that either the Furtive Five were, initially, ignorant of the constitutional provision barring their eligibility to be elected, or that they secured political power through subterfuge. I would earnestly want to believe the former.

And this is why Ronald Thwaites' motion for parliamentarians to declare their citizenship status is so important. The dual-citizenship saga strikes at the core of not only the Government, but the entire Parliament, because Thwaites' colleague lawmakers from the Opposition have also failed to show their hand. With five government MP reruns and two opposition MPs before the courts, we but wonder just how many more dual citizens may be hiding in the closet.

Bottom line: The ship of state cannot function without a moral compass. The pilots - of both the Government and the Opposition - must restore confidence lest we run aground. If not, disillusioned Jamaicans will continue to abandon ship.

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