EDITORIAL - Youth, yes, but more than that

Unsurprisingly, Bruce Golding's suggestion that his Jamaica Labour Party elect someone substantially younger than himself as its next leader has ignited sharp debate, within and outside the party.

Golding turns 64 in December. He will step down next month, after the selection of the JLP leader. Mr Golding is going, in part, because, as he conceded in a broadcast on Sunday night, the challenges faced by Jamaica "will require strong leadership to overcome and the absolute confidence in the authority of that leadership". The prime minister's own authority was severely compromised by his handling of the Christopher Coke extradition affair.

But Mr Golding suggested that he also took his age into account in deciding to go, saying it was time "for me and people like me to make way for a new crop of leaders to step forward and unleash their energies and creativity".

He will not be taken aback for being accused of promoting ageism. Or, that inside the JLP, his declaration is viewed by some factions as a clear and heavy-handed attempt to circumscribe runs by septuagenarians, such as Dr Ken Baugh and Mike Henry, in favour of younger aspirants such as Andrew Holness, 39, and Dr Christopher Tufton, 43. Even someone like Finance Minister Audley Shaw, 59, may have felt targeted by Mr Golding.

The Opposition People's National Party (PNP) may feel it has a stake in this debate. For should either Mr Holness or Dr Tufton prevail on the contest, a general-election campaign next year is likely to be framed as a battle of ideas and ideals for the 21st century between fresh, young minds of the JLP, and the PNP's leader, Portia Simpson, who is of a generation that is deemed not to have managed Jamaica well.

This newspaper does not support the automatic disqualification of persons from positions of authority or competence solely on the basis of age. Nor do we believe that young people should be excluded from leadership merely because of their youth, or to satisfy the embedded Jamaican political criteria of serving time and waiting turns.

Mental sharpness

Indeed, it is a good trait in leaders to plan for transition, thus making way for renewal, which mostly rests in youth. But young people who assume leadership should have clarity of thought, be of proven ability, and display a genuine willingness to serve.

In any event, we do not interpret Mr Golding's remarks as exclusively a literal call for the disqualification of all but the post-Independence generation from the leadership race, but rather a call for a new style of leader, who manifests a higher quality of governance and competence. It may well be that Mr Golding is looking for a leader beyond himself.

In other words, the new JLP leader should have energy; be a good manager, who is technically skilled to manage the challenges faced by the country; be capable of resisting special interests, inside and outside the party; and be ready to jettison the tribal politics that spawned political garrisons.

While people of the ages of Mr Henry, 76, and Dr Baugh, 70, can still make contributions to the country, these, in the context of the hectic demands for renewal, may not be at the top leadership of the Government. Mr Shaw, however, ought not be ruled out.