What's age got to do with it?

by Peter Espeut

Political spin knows no bounds, it seems, and is able to sell the most illogical and ridiculous ideas. Except for athletics and other sports, youth possesses no advantage over middle age. Some occupations require physical strength and others require brainpower. In a chess tournament, I will back the wily old grandmaster over the talented, brash, young player any day. Which is politics most like: the 100m final, or a complex chess game?

What we suffer from in Jamaica is not so much old, tired politicians but old, tired politics. I will choose - every time - an old politician, tired of the corrupt, old politics, ready to engineer a paradigm shift, over a young chip off the old block, steeped in the old politics, prepared to be a bigger tribalist than his elders.

Remember that F.W. de Klerk was 56 when, as president of South Africa and head of the National Party (NP), he brought apartheid to an end. And that Mikhail Gorbachev was 60 when, as general secretary of the Communist Party and head of state of the USSR, he presided over the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Britain turned to a 66-year-old Winston Churchill to guide it through World War II. And it was a fit Nelson Mandela who led the African National Congress in the negotiations that led to multiracial democracy in 1994, and who assumed the presidency of South Africa at 76.

I am sorry to tell you: among the political top brass in the PNP and JLP, there are no de Klerks or Gorbachevs, and certainly no Mandelas. The dinosaurs are steeped in the old ways, and although I hear lots of claims that "we are the change", I see no concrete steps towards anything new or different.

I have to drag you all back down to earth: when you want a big change, it is unlikely to come from a young politician. To get into power in the first place, he has to have the support of the old guard (the perpetuators of old politics) and the big money which backs them. Gorbachev rose to the top of the Communist Party because he was a good communist. The apartheid credentials of de Klerk were impeccable: his great-grandfather, grandfather and father were NP politicians. A minister of national education, de Klerk was a supporter of segregated universities, and as a leader of the NP in Transvaal, he was not known to advocate reform. Both de Klerk and Gorbachev had road-to-Damascus experiences after getting into power. To achieve their greatness, both de Klerk and Gorbachev had to betray their backers.

YOUNGSTERS CAN BE PUPPETS

A young politician will rise to the top because those with the most to lose believe it is in their best interests for him to be there, not because there is a global trend towards young politicians. A young politician will rise to the top because the power brokers believe he can win them the next election, and because they believe they can manipulate him; not because they believe he will put an end to political corruption, and to the party faithful feeding from the political trough. The backers of Holness don't for a moment believe he will betray them!

Remember that Andrew Holness is a third-term MP for West Central St Andrew, which has many garrison enclaves. He has recently denied any involvement in garrison politics, but what has he done during his three terms to make things uncomfortable for the dons of Olympic Gardens, all within his constituency?

What has Mr Holness done as leader of Government business in the House to advance our legislative agenda?

He has played the game well, and now he is to be prime minister. In that high office, will he support full public declaration of political donations? Will he promote conservation of the natural environment and an end to unsustainable development? So far, he has stayed out of controversy, and kept his nose clean; no doubt this is what makes him attractive to the power brokers fearful of a PNP victory at the polls. But where does Mr Holness stand on the major issues?

Over the years, Jamaica has shown that it loves political messiahs; the spin doctors are hard at work, converting young Andrew into 'The Hero' which 'The Crowd' can idolise.

As I have been consistently saying since my column of Monday, September 26, there are forces pulling strings in the background - some local and some based overseas. The most exciting part is yet to come!

Peter Espeut is a sociologist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.