PNP 'crass it' 42-21!

I said this would have been a very close election, and indeed many of the seats were won with fairly close margins. I am sure the JLP will call for a few magisterial recounts, such as for South West St Elizabeth, which Chris Tufton lost after the final count. To my mind, Tufton would make a valuable contribution in Parliament.

But how did the PNP create that massive win? This is where the analysis should begin. And from the looks of things, the PNP is as flummoxed as so many others. Every day bucket go a well, one day di battam a go drap out.

G2K

I believe G2K, the youth arm of the JLP, must look at its role in delivering defeat to the JLP. Although General Secretary Karl Samuda has high praises for the work G2K did, many Jamaicans would beg to differ.

It is downright dishonest to manipulate facts. That's not creativity. The seniors of the JLP should never have given G2K carte blanche. You cannot have some people in a party speaking of respect for women while launching a vicious and sustained ad attack on Simpson Miller. Didn't anyone realise that that particular attack would deliver diminished returns? What could you expect with such mixed messages: new and different, while old and nasty. As the Reverend Karl Johnson has said, we can be robust without being raucous.

Social Media

Why didn't the seniors in the JLP halt or dissociate themselves from the nasty campaign unleashed in social media against some candidates? The ads might have attracted the attention of misguided young people, who might even have found them entertaining, but these disenchanted youth, generally speaking, are not the ones who would vote.

No party that is desirous of winning an election can afford to alienate groups in a populace. Although the rules that apply to traditional media do not apply to social media, there has to be a sense of fairness and decency. Didn't anyone realise that it would backfire?

Politicians do not have the luxury to represent some citizens and not others. You and I may not wish to associate or condone particular lifestyles, but the politician has no such indulgence. Politicians represent all people. And many of those same people voted against rudeness, crassness and contempt.

As I watched on election night and it became clear that the JLP would suffer a huge loss, I wondered what former Prime Minister Bruce Golding was thinking on the evening of December 29? To what extent would he accept that some of his actions led to all of this? Would Golding accept that he helped create history - the first one-term Jamaican government?

Going forward

Winning an election is one thing; governing a country is another. The PNP will assume the reins of government at a most precarious time in Jamaica and the world. There will be NO honeymoon.

Promises have been made. Priorities must be right. There will be no time for trial and error. The people with the right skill sets should be made ministers. The PNP says it will consult with the people. If this is not done, it, too, will be a one-term government.

All wisdom does not reside in one prime minister or a Cabinet minister's head. The PNP must immediately engage key sectors and people, from academia, the Church, the business sector, sports and cultural industries, the youth and the disabled, among others.

The PNP must think outside the box when creating ministries and making appointments. Positions should not be given to those to whom the PM-designate or the PNP feel indebted. The right person for the right job will be crucial.

All that's left for me to say is, 'Happy 2012!' It will not be an easy year. But with all hands on deck, we can make it. As we celebrate our 50th anniversary of independence, let us be an example to the world by showing them that we are indeed respectful of each other; that we can work together, regardless of political stripe; and that we fully understand that a parliamentary opposition is an essential part of a democratic process and of any country's success.

Ring the bell, let the trumpet sound, forward march together!

Fae Ellington is a broadcaster. Email columns@gleanerjm.com.