EDITORIAL: The fashioning of a leader

Of the things about which there is no uncertainty in the race for the leadership of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), one is that the winner will not emerge with a magic wand in hand. Second, the Jamaica he inherits, after being sworn in as head of the government, will still face serious economic and social problems.

In other words, the new prime minister cannot depend on magic for fixing Jamaica. Nor should the rest of us.

The foregoing, if appreciated in its fullest context, will hopefully concentrate the minds of the 5,000 JLP delegates who will vote for the new leader on the qualities that should be possessed by the person who gets the job. Perhaps, too, it will elicit fresh and creative thinking on the part of those who have already committed themselves to, or are contemplating, offering themselves for the dual post.

Party elections are internal matters, whose democracy is a heavy mixture of façade and reality. Delegates, by and large, are heavily influenced, if not fully controlled, by regional or divisional bosses and tend to vote en bloc. It is more than possible, therefore, for key players to substantially influence, if not cynically manipulate, the outcome of votes.

Happily, delegates, and party supporters, more broadly, are increasingly aware that the leader must be able to carry more than backers of his organisation for the party to be electable nationally. On this point, the JLP has its own relatively recent past as an effective case study.

The point, however, has greater significance at this time when the JLP forms the Government and needs national consensus on a range of difficult decisions that will be required if Jamaica is to have a chance at solving its problems.

build consensus

But a winning personality, and an ability to build consensus - though these are significant assets - are not the only skill sets demanded of an effective and successful national leader.

He must be absolutely certain about the issues to be tackled, be clear about the priorities - in this case, economic growth and creating jobs - have a fixity of purpose and a stomach to take tough decisions for the advancement of his goals and a willingness to stand by those decisions when they are right. He must, therefore, be prepared to take risks.

Given these expectations of the leader, including concerns for the tribal nature of Jamaican politics, this newspaper believes that JLP aspirants should speak not only to the delegates, but the wider Jamaica, about their perceptions of, and plans for, the party, the national economy and the social infrastructure. It would, for example, be useful to hear his ideas for building intra- and cross-party support for programmes and policies.

Another idea worthwhile exploring, which has been floated by at least one of the prospective candidates, is to offer tickets, as a way of combining the attributes of two or more of the candidates and delivering the range of skills that may not reside in a single person.

We need to repeat for those who seek the job and may, perforce, have to campaign for it, that Jamaica is in a difficult situation, with its economy in crisis and the world on the verge of another recession. The campaign cannot, therefore, become a distraction for the Government, and the contestants must do nothing to undermine confidence.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.