Will Holness vs Simpson Miller be 'Blame Game 3'?

by Gary Spaulding

In another few hours, the Jamaica Debates Commission will present the platform for the two political leaders - the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Andrew Holness and the People's National Party's (PNP) Portia Simpson Miller - to square off in the grand finale of the three national political debates it had planned, hopefully to stimulate voter interest, as a presage to election day 2011.

Guided by Jamaicans' reactions from the two previous debates, the populace is not prepared to countenance either Simpson Miller or Holness as gunners firing from their barrels of negativity.

Cautious hope abounds in the public domain that Holness and Simpson Miller will stamp their authority by discontinuing the penchant for trading blame.

Some of the six political neophytes had done a superb job in the initial debate of flaunting their skills in the blame game, but this failed to electrify the audience, especially the thinking electorate.

Jamaicans have been pronouncing loudly and unambiguously their abhorrence to the finger-pointing that has dominated and decivilised the local political culture.

Notwithstanding the strident rejection of this form of debating/politicking, the art was adroitly perfected by Finance Minister Audley Shaw (JLP) and his opposite number, Dr Peter Phillips (PNP), in the subsequent showdown.

Youth debate

Minus the diehards who are entertained by debate mudslinging, the majority of the television and radio audience, anecdotally, were displeased by the rancour of the PNP's Raymond Pryce in the first debate.

Pryce is unquestionably eloquent and readily seizes every opportunity to display his oratory, but many letter writers and talk-show callers were turned off by the lack of substance in terms of his party's plans.

A number of citizens with Jamaica's interest at heart also had no use for the JLP's Marlene Malahoo Forte's battle strategy to arm herself with the Trafigura scandal to counter Pryce's Manatt attack. But I doubt her repeated characterisation of Pryce's "old- style politics" gained much traction in light of a scandal that claimed a prime minister.

Most commentators posited that that debate could have been used presenting the parties' respective vision for the country.

The accuracy of some of Lisa Hanna's claims was challenged, but the viewers and listeners were generally won over by her decision to remain above the fray.

The Shaw-Phillips clash of ideas left many Jamaicans utterly disappointed, as they used the opportunity to prove who was better at mismanaging the economy.

But the Jamaican public was not told, in clear terms, the elaborate strategy either party had for rescuing the country from its fiscal crisis, boosting jobs and growing the economy.

Shaw's constant reference to Phillips' alleged misconduct of the three ministries for which he held portfolio responsibility during the PNP's 18-year tenure failed to impress.

The electorate was equally displeased with Phillips' constant reference to Shaw's role in what he described as a badly managed economy, and claims that he was in a state of denial.

Leading by example

The time has come for Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Portia Simpson Miller to lift the bar of discourse.

Simpson Miller can be assured that the people are not merely looking for the "gift of gab" but a strategic vision for the future and realistic, specific answers, not the flamboyant fluff the PNP has been dishing out to fawning, frenzied crowds.

Holness would do well to avoid venturing into analyses of the past, as there is need for a clear articulation of the plans and programmes listed in the JLP's manifesto launched yesterday. (And get your math right this time, Prime Minister).

Unemployment, according to a recent Gleaner-Bill Johnson opinion poll, is regarded as the No. 1 concern of most Jamaicans.

The two leaders must take heed and spend less time on who was wrong but rather sell themselves as the right leader with the right plan and the right team for Jamaica.

Gary Spaulding is a senior political affairs journalist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com.