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EDITORIAL - PNP needs a fresh start
published: Thursday | January 3, 2008
Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller, in her New Year's message, has urged Jamaicans to make 2008 a year of renewal. Significantly, what Mrs. Simpson Miller does not say is how she and her People's National Party (PNP), in Opposition after 18 years in government, intend to help Jamaicans towards this "fresh start" in their personal and community development.
We had hoped, and expected, that the Opposition Leader would have used the message to outline a vision for her party in its new, and to many in its ranks, unaccustomed circumstance. For, as she said, Jamaica is faced with trying times, demanding of "community power" if the country is to have a chance at "tackling poverty, crime and providing an environment in which our children will be well cared for and free from abuse." It is not enough, however, for a leader to tell people that they need to be "creative and resourceful" if they hope to achieve their goals.
But, perhaps, Mrs. Simpson Miller has set her own timetable - influenced by national and internal political contexts - which will determine how and when she outlines this broader vision for Jamaica and her party. Indeed, she might argue that she and the PNP need time to gather themselves after last September's narrow defeat in the national elections.
That may be so but, given the urgency of Jamaica's problems, time is not a luxury that Mrs. Simpson Miller has if she wants to continue to be considered as a serious leader of a political party with something to offer to Jamaica's development. It won't be enough to cynically await hoped-for shortcomings and policy errors of the administration, with the expectation that these will warrant a recall to government.
Jamaicans want an intellectually vibrant and effective Opposition that constructively critiques government policies and offers credibl They are looking to political parties committed to a high quality of governance and wholesome leadership.
While Mrs. Simpson Miller may need time to set her course, she is not without an opportunity to signal the direction in which she intends to lead her party: whether towards renewal or to continue the moribund path of stagnation and, eventually, atrophy. It is a choice, as much for the PNP as Mrs. Simpson Miller, on which we offer advice on the grounds that political parties, which seek to govern with greater authority over people's lives, can't expect to operate as private clubs, where decisions and decision making are totally beyond the pale of the wider society.
So, we expect Mrs. Simpson Miller and her party, after the misadventure of Donald Buchanan, to choose as a replacement someone serious and forward-looking for the post; an individual who can help articulate a vision of a grand coalition and work towards its achievement. Should the PNP not believe it needs such a person, it should reflect on the results of the last several elections in Jamaica and its desertion by the middle and lower classes and professionals. The choice has to be beyond factions merely jockeying to have a member in place in the hope of advancing their narrow ends.
Mrs. Simpson Miller, good student of politics that she is, should know that while it is possible to win elections, administrations are incapable of effective government and quality governance in the absence of a broad coalition, which, incidentally, is the foundation on which the PNP was built.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
published: Thursday | January 3, 2008
Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller, in her New Year's message, has urged Jamaicans to make 2008 a year of renewal. Significantly, what Mrs. Simpson Miller does not say is how she and her People's National Party (PNP), in Opposition after 18 years in government, intend to help Jamaicans towards this "fresh start" in their personal and community development.
We had hoped, and expected, that the Opposition Leader would have used the message to outline a vision for her party in its new, and to many in its ranks, unaccustomed circumstance. For, as she said, Jamaica is faced with trying times, demanding of "community power" if the country is to have a chance at "tackling poverty, crime and providing an environment in which our children will be well cared for and free from abuse." It is not enough, however, for a leader to tell people that they need to be "creative and resourceful" if they hope to achieve their goals.
But, perhaps, Mrs. Simpson Miller has set her own timetable - influenced by national and internal political contexts - which will determine how and when she outlines this broader vision for Jamaica and her party. Indeed, she might argue that she and the PNP need time to gather themselves after last September's narrow defeat in the national elections.
That may be so but, given the urgency of Jamaica's problems, time is not a luxury that Mrs. Simpson Miller has if she wants to continue to be considered as a serious leader of a political party with something to offer to Jamaica's development. It won't be enough to cynically await hoped-for shortcomings and policy errors of the administration, with the expectation that these will warrant a recall to government.
Jamaicans want an intellectually vibrant and effective Opposition that constructively critiques government policies and offers credibl They are looking to political parties committed to a high quality of governance and wholesome leadership.
While Mrs. Simpson Miller may need time to set her course, she is not without an opportunity to signal the direction in which she intends to lead her party: whether towards renewal or to continue the moribund path of stagnation and, eventually, atrophy. It is a choice, as much for the PNP as Mrs. Simpson Miller, on which we offer advice on the grounds that political parties, which seek to govern with greater authority over people's lives, can't expect to operate as private clubs, where decisions and decision making are totally beyond the pale of the wider society.
So, we expect Mrs. Simpson Miller and her party, after the misadventure of Donald Buchanan, to choose as a replacement someone serious and forward-looking for the post; an individual who can help articulate a vision of a grand coalition and work towards its achievement. Should the PNP not believe it needs such a person, it should reflect on the results of the last several elections in Jamaica and its desertion by the middle and lower classes and professionals. The choice has to be beyond factions merely jockeying to have a member in place in the hope of advancing their narrow ends.
Mrs. Simpson Miller, good student of politics that she is, should know that while it is possible to win elections, administrations are incapable of effective government and quality governance in the absence of a broad coalition, which, incidentally, is the foundation on which the PNP was built.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.