Simpson Miller rises again

FOR THE first time in almost three years, Portia Simpson Miller has overtaken Bruce Golding as the person most Jamaicans think would do a better job as prime minister.

However, more Jamaicans have moved into the ranks of the undecided after failing to be impressed by either of the leaders.

Pollster Bill Johnson took to the streets of Jamaica at the height of the Government's dithering on the United States extradition request for Christopher 'Dudus' Coke and when Golding's role in the Manatt mystery sparked outrage inside and outside Parliament.

At that time, the prime minister's stocks were at an all-time low, with only 25 per cent of Jamaicans having a favourable impression of him. Simpson Miller, on the other hand, enjoyed slightly decreased numbers, with her approval rating averaging 40 per cent.

The approval rating was reflected in the answers about who would do the better job as prime minister.

In the Gleaner-commissioned poll conducted April 24 and 25 and May 1, only 28 per cent of the respondents said Golding would perform better as head of the Government.

That was a far cry from the 40 per cent who gave Golding the nod less than one year earlier and a full 14 percentage points below the peak of 42 per cent during his glory days of June 2008.

During that period, Golding led Simpson Miller by as many as nine percentage points as Jamaicans backed the urbane leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) over the populist president of the Opposition People's National Party (PNP).

Marginal rise

But in the latest poll, Simpson Miller's star rose - albeit marginally - as Golding's plummeted.

The poll found 28 per cent of the respondents believed Golding would do a better job as prime minister down from 40 per cent in August 2009.

Forty-one per cent of Jamaicans said they believed Simpson Miller would do the better job as head of the Government, up from 37 per cent in August 2009.

However, most of the persons who shifted from Golding moved into the ranks of the undecided, which increased from 23 per cent in August 2009 to 31 per cent in the latest poll.

"That group of the undecided is where the emphasis should be," said a professor, who lectures in government and politics at a leading local university.

The professor - who asked that her name be withheld because of a project she is now involved in - argued that while the attitude of potential voters would change based on incidents, this would not reflect long-term voting patterns.

"Jamaicans do not necessarily want to see the PNP back in power but they were very disappointed and disillusioned with the prime minister," added the professor.

The Bill Johnson poll was conducted with a sample size of 1,008 with a plus or minus 3 per cent margin of error.