Campaign ground rules

Dennie Quill, Gleaner Columnist

The silly season is well and truly upon us, and persons who live by the political calendar know that this period will soon give way to another season - the election itself. Already, politicians have spread out all over the country trying to appeal to voters.

Jamaican politics is robust, and election campaigns can get very intense. From the election platform, we are accustomed to live humour, but also misstatements, exaggerations, half-truths and other falsehoods, all with the intention of showing how wonderful one side is and how disastrous the other is.

Frankly, both the JLP and the PNP do a great job of shattering the notion that good leadership and bankable ideas exist in either party and, by extension, in Jamaica. This is not a true reading of our country, for despite our shortcomings, Jamaica has made its mark on the global stage, whether in alerting the world to the evils of apartheid or in achieving athletic greatness.

However, if we consider that competition, and not consensus building, is the lifeblood of political power, perhaps we can comprehend the need for the parties to rip each other apart and be publicly hostile in their speeches and ad campaigns.

The campaign highlight - or lowlight, depending on one's perspective - is often the hurling of abuse, name-calling and personal attacks which tend to intensify at this time. Already, the tone has been set, with some of the old guard who are desperately seeking to regenerate themselves resorting to name-calling and slurs.

It would be foolhardy to expect that there will be a drift towards decency and an issue-based campaign in the weeks ahead. Campaign directors seem incapable of restraining their members. And the question I ask is this: Does it have to be like that?

Sensibly, the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has decided that it will not be consumed by a leadership race, having seen how such a contest can rattle a party. Instead, it has decided to coalesce around Andrew Holness, who was born 10 years after the island gained Independence. He turned 39 in July.

Giving youth hope

The contest is, therefore, shaping up to look like age vs experience. If one considers that those who do not vote are drawn disproportionately from the ranks of the youth in our society, the party which wins the next election must excite the youth and give them hope. The winner will have to convince the youth that they can use the ballot box to reshape Government into something relevant and responsive.

As the debate hardens, political observers are making various statements: "experience is highly overrated"; "some politicians are old but not really grown up"; and "we can't turn a blind eye to the value of experience."

The Opposition People's National Party, in an attempt to shake off the perception that it is a Cabinet of shadows, is likely to introduce new blood to the electorate in the days ahead. Many of them are likely to be young candidates, too.

Meantime, Andrew Holness will be dogged by the legacy of the last four years in Government and will have to quickly define himself while he attempts to build credibility around his team.

My appeal is for a decent election campaign. It is promising to be an absorbing campaign, one that will undoubtedly tap into a powerful desire for a new type of politics.

We pray that democracy will win in the end.

Dennie Quill is a veteran media practitioner. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and denniequill@hotmail.com.