Holness isn't leadership material

Ronald Mason, Contributor

The JLP has had its election. It has elected a leader with a comfortable margin, and yet, in the aftermath, one cannot help but feel the benefits of the exercise slipping away. The old adage states if one keeps doing the same thing, the same way, over and over, and expect a different outcome, that is a sign of madness.

Here goes the JLP on another 'gang' excursion. The party has had purges, which eventually led to the National Democratic Movement (NDM). This has been to the extent that the NDM has difficulty gaining acceptance because it has not been able to lose the perception of being JLP light.

Recall the history of the JLP. Recall the end result. The party with alleged competent persons wandered in political wilderness for 18 years. Now the Labourites have had an internal election, but there is still no subsequent display of embracing the opportunity to lean forward.

The party cannot go forward with a Shadow Cabinet of Pearnel Charles, J.C. Hutchinson, Karl Samuda, Kenneth Baugh, an overburdened Andrew Holness, and a recycled Derrick Smith. Abandoned are Christopher Tufton, Bobby Montague and Gregory Mair. Alex Williams alone offers a sign of hope.

The JLP leader appears to be petty and hell-bent on proving that the last thing he could be is transformational. One of the things I am forced to do is put the microscope on Andrew Holness' leadership qualities. Inspirational, visionary, bold, proposing new thinking to old problems and commanding a willingness in the followers to follow. How does he measure up?

'Haves and have-nots'

Prior to being selected and then elected leader, he had no front-line party role. I find difficulty in recalling him giving an inspirational national address. He is best known for his "bitter medicine" speech. He has not produced intellectual work in the calibre of Edward Seaga's 'haves and have-nots'. His mastery is inclusive of social media, hardly an act of intellect. He is, for goodness sake, in his 40s, a member of parliament for more than a decade. It is about time he produces bold, new thinking befitting a leader.

One must question whether Holness possesses leadership qualities or just the veneer of potential, because he is photogenic and in his 40s. He is the proverbial tall, brown, handsome man with the perfect family of wife and two children. However, does that make him a leader? Specifically, a leader of a small-island developing state beset with economic, social and human resource problems?

Do not tell me that because he has only had the leadership, in the second reign, for one week we must give him more time. He was selected two years ago. Please tell me his inspirational thoughts. Refer me to the speech. Refer me to the thoughts of the thinkers he has marshalled. Refer me, please. No 'ray-ray', but what replaces that?

Remember, 43 per cent of the persons who know him best said he was not the preferred choice to lead. Is he really capable of leading? Yes, he is the leader duly elected with a comfortable margin. But!

Holness' actions in the post-election period evidence no olive branch. No fashioning a team for the future. No sense of renewal. I miss the vision of Alexander Bustamante with direct, clear thought. "We are with the West!" Or the brash, arrogant, but activist Edward Seaga. The vision of Robert Lightbourne. The steadiness of Hugh Shearer. The cerebral Bruce Golding, who, unfortunately for Jamaica, lost his way.

Now you honestly answer: Is Andrew Michael Holness in the mould of his predecessors? Does he even have a leadership profile of his own? Remember, he has been the leader for two years.

JLP senators Christopher Tufton and Arthur Williams, appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the opposition leader, have been forced out of the Senate, with undated letters of resignation submitted to King's House in a sinister fashion.

Devotees of Audley Shaw

Their sole transgression is not that they are not loyal Labourites, but they are perceived to be devotees of Audley Shaw. MP Edmund Bartlett, forever the face of the JLP's position on tourism, has been denigrated to the back benches. Tufton has no place in the Shadow Cabinet either.

This cannot be good for governance in Jamaica. This forces me to pray even more fervently for all stakeholders to be fully committed and participating in the National Partnership Council. At least the progress of the country is being debated in this forum.

Is the JLP, with this leader, now irrelevant to Jamaican politics? Are we watching the first shoots of another political party? The prospects of state funding for political parties and the core group of the new party already in Parliament for the next three years gives them an opportunity never before enjoyed by a new party in Jamaica.

Get to work, people! Study, plan and strategise. Could it be that the loyal Opposition to a bloated PNP is already in Parliament? Think of a Parliament with many private members' motions forcing debate on matters of interest. A Parliament with a robust Question Time.

The genesis of a new party would comprise reasoned politicians with the zeal to organise, educate and lead, offering full explanation and interaction with the people at the constituency level. The prospects of a multi-party Parliament engaged and enlightened are almost too good to be true. One can dream.

Ronald Mason is an immigration attorney, mediator and talk-show host. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and nationsagenda@gmail.com