PM by back-room deal

BY Daniel Thwaites

I thank The Gleaner for 'bushing' out a little clearing on its pages for me to plant a few words. It spares me from applying for that loader-man vacancy Bishop Blair had been advertising.

Best wishes are due to Mr Holness, who has become Jamaica's youngest prime minister to date. But he has done so by one of the most ancient methods - the old back-room deal.

Many in the JLP nursed aspirations to lead. Some did so openly, others quietly and in the private. Bruce put a well-placed kick into those private parts of Henry, Baugh and Shaw. As they lay curled up and howling, Mr Holness was quickly announced, first as candidate, then as sole legitimate, inevitable candidate. The unmistakable message was that anyone who announced a challenge and disturbed the manufactured 'unanimity' might get Pearnel-treatment at the next conference. Ol'-time sinting come back again; go 'round the lane an' go tell yuh fren!

No choice for 'oldies'

As regards Tufton and Montague, the situation must have them seething. They don't offend Mr Golding's age requirements, but they were clearly 'firsted'. Both seemed to have been caught, knickers at the knees and unable to run, as the Holness wave overwhelmed them. Now they had no choice but to swim with the tide, but that red droplet at the mouth corners is evidence that the tongue is being bitten. Montague's assertion that he would have won the delegate vote is already a tremendous cannon shot across the bow.

None of which is to say Holness will be a bad leader for the six seconds before he calls elections.

However, the public was robbed of the opportunity to hear him explain how he will be a better leader than Mr Tufton, Mr Montague or, for that matter, James Robertson. Incidentally, I think a serious case can be made for Mr Robertson as the natural and true leader of the JLP. But that reflection takes us into deep waters, those parts where the giants dwell.

During the 2006 run-off for the presidency of the PNP, there were complaints that the fate of the country would be decided by a few thousand delegates. Some who now cheer the non-democratic, "seamless transition" were critics of what was then described as an insufficiently democratic process. But here the decision-making pool has been narrowed to a near vanishing point. Somewhere, not in the bowels of Belmont, but more likely in the conference room of a posh hotel, whiskey-filled, poker-faced puppeteers decided that Bruce was finished but the anticipated return on investment wasn't fulfilled.

It is true that Holness showed a lead in the opinion polls, but if polling was the sole determinant, we would have had Prime Minister Pearnel Charles in the 1980s, and we would have Portia Simpson Miller now.

When desperation sets in, it's no frills and back to basics. It's obvious that even a single debate among the leadership aspirants was considered too costly and dangerous. After all, embarrassing questions would be asked. Where were you when the Cabinet backed Mr Golding again and again - 'unanimously' - as he savaged Jamaica's reputation, with many viewing it as a narco-state? Where do you stand on the IMF conditionalities negotiated after Mr Shaw fired off the A-team and brought in the B-side bunglers?

Serious questions

Do you commit to 'continuity', or to renegotiating the deal with the IMF? Is it still the plan to rev up the chainsaw at the civil service? Do you claim that the average Jamaican is better off now than she was four years ago? If not, why not, and what responsibility do you take for the condition?

No doubt, now that the bosses have chosen, the delegates will endorse. However, had the delegates been given the opportunity to choose, the result may have been substantially different. And wouldn't we have preferred the choice of the delegates? Now they are called upon to rubber-stamp the decision of kingmakers. At least until Bobby or Chris recover their footing and decide to come fi de ting?

Is Jamaica 35 West Parade? You think there's a tenant in place, but then men turn up with measuring tape, drawings and plans. No advertisement of the property, no public tender - just some paper sign up, and a new management is in place. Hol' dat! Or is Jamaica The Pegasus? Handed over in a 'one-slap' deal ('sweethearts', at least, get some love)? Hol' dis! Or is Jamaica Bruce's property to will away? "Hol' ness!"

Holness has been crowned. One doesn't earn the title of 'Prince'; it is bestowed.

Daniel Thwaites has a New York law firm and is a student of Norman Manley Law School. Email columns@gleanerjm.com.