EDITORIAL - Looking beyond the election

Monday's publication of the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) manifesto confirmed that it and the People's National Party (PNP) are agreed that the economy is in crisis, although they don't quite say it that way.

They are also pretty much agreed on the core problem, a spiralling debt that is 130 per cent of gross domestic product. Fixing it will require bringing public expenditure into closer balance, elements of which must include overhauling the public sector and reforms to the tax and pension systems.

Of course, there are some variations in emphases on how the parties expect to proceed, including the role of Government. The PNP proffers a marginally more activist, but not overly interventionist, state.

The fundamental question, therefore, the parties will put to voters on December 29 is which of them is better able to lead a recovery and place the economy on a path to sustainable growth and job creation.

This newspaper offers no comment on what ought to be the choice of voters, but warmly welcomes the broad policy consensus between the parties. Jamaica can, hopefully, now escape the partisan bickering and tug of war over economic initiatives.

It is against this backdrop that we invite the JLP and PNP to begin to seriously contemplate what will be the role of either, and both, after the election. One will form the Government and the other the Opposition. And the smart money suggests that the gap between them, in parliamentary seats, and certainly in the popular vote, will be narrow.

The Government, in such a scenario, won't have the luxury of ignoring the Opposition. At least, not if it is serious about solving Jamaica's difficult problems. The administration, if it intends to achieve anything, will require the cooperation of the Opposition, for which it must create the right environment.

Simply, the actions to be taken will be painful, unpopular and, in some cases, resisted by groups, including business, which will involve giving up long-held privileges. Among these will be the demand that they bear their fair share of the tax burden. Greater efficiency will inevitably lead to job losses, and more government employees will be required to contribute to their pensions. The Government will have to curtail, or cut back, entitlements.

A test of leadership

In such circumstances, it is easy for an irresponsible Opposition to create disquiet that undermines reforms and derails policies for growth. The situation, therefore, will be a test of the quality of leadership of the prime minister and the opposition leader.

Identifiable policy consensus, and in a sense, co-ownership of programmes, will hopefully constrain political obstructionism on the part of the loser and create a path to cooperation. But the greater responsibility will be on the Government to open that path by eschewing hubris and arrogance and establishing a basis for genuine cross-party and stakeholder engagement.

Whichever party loses will, of course, be forced to undergo not only introspection, but deep changes. If it is the PNP, the demand for change and renewal will be more immediate. The casualties will include the party's president, Portia Simpson Miller.

The youthful Andrew Holness, only recently at the helm, can survive a JLP defeat. But the party will have to purge much of the old guard.

Both, though, will have to be careful to place Jamaica first.