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.....conveniently omitting the FACT that the JLP tribe ...especially Gelding in his resignation...was FORCED by Civil Society to do the right thing, or suffer certain defeat at the polls... Bishen Spin Benni's protestations to the contrary notwithstanding
I agree the JLP changes are to be commended but...the true hero is Jamaican public opinion... pressha mek dem dweet
Again...the Observer needs to stop the blatant manipulation of the public...hypocrites and parasites
The evolution of the Jamaica Labour Party
Thursday, December 01, 2011
If Tuesday night's resignation of Mr Lester Michael 'Mike' Henry as minister of transport and works is seen merely only as political fodder, we risk losing the point entirely.
The greater significance of Mr Henry's departure lies in the further indication as to how the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is evolving and, perhaps, what that means for the development of the Jamaican body politic.
We felt that Mr Henry's resignation was logical and our only wonder was why it took him so long to hand in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, given the rising stench over the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP).
That step is logical because it is in keeping with three previous steps which, in JLP terms, were monumental.
First, Prime Minister Bruce Golding did what no other JLP leader has done - give up the job voluntarily, without being ill, as was the case of the only other leader of government to step away - the People's National Party's (PNP) Mr Michael Manley in 1992. The PNP's Mr PJ Patterson also gave up the job in 2006.
Second, upon the resignation of Mr Golding, the JLP - in record time - coalesced around one leader, Mr Holness and thus avoided the well known, almost traditional leadership skirmishes, best remembered by the so-called Gang of Five saga; the beating of Mr Pearnel Charles at a party conference outside the National Arena; and the departure of Mr Golding to form the National Democratic Movement in 1995. The only skirmish related to Mr Golding's 2011 resignation, and that is if it can be called that, was the short-lived and ill-advised attempt by some party enthusiasts to have Mr Holness forego what seemed to be his birthright in favour of Mr Audley Shaw.
Third, the postponement of the internal party elections for positions, including chairman, in which Mr Robert Montague, the agriculture minister had thrown down the gauntlett to Mr Mike Henry. Clearly, This was also to avoid any frissons that could lead to disunity ahead of an imminent general election.
In that context, we had expected Mr Henry to step away the moment the JDIP scandal burst, if for nothing else but to to spare his party the trauma of defending a flawed minister, but more importantly, to do the right and honourable thing.
Mr Henry has appeared slow off the mark in the new JLP. Recall that he was absent at that historic crowning of Mr Holness and some questioned whether he still had leadership aspirations, even if that was nothing more than a pipe dream.
We don't know, but we suspect that Mr Henry was pushed. Even then, it is still a huge step to have a minister resign over alleged shenanigans at an agency under his portfolio and worse, on the eve of elections. That too, we suggest, is a symbol of the continuing evolution of the JLP which is positioning itself as the party of the future.
It is a metamorphosis that is bound to affect the People's National Party (PNP), the other major political party and with which the JLP has shared political power since Adult Suffrage in 1944.
The PNP is seemingly finding it difficult to redefine itself in the post-Manley/Patterson period. But it must if it is to continue to boast that Jamaica is "PNP country".
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz1fNRz2FZE
I agree the JLP changes are to be commended but...the true hero is Jamaican public opinion... pressha mek dem dweet
Again...the Observer needs to stop the blatant manipulation of the public...hypocrites and parasites
The evolution of the Jamaica Labour Party
Thursday, December 01, 2011
If Tuesday night's resignation of Mr Lester Michael 'Mike' Henry as minister of transport and works is seen merely only as political fodder, we risk losing the point entirely.
The greater significance of Mr Henry's departure lies in the further indication as to how the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is evolving and, perhaps, what that means for the development of the Jamaican body politic.
We felt that Mr Henry's resignation was logical and our only wonder was why it took him so long to hand in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, given the rising stench over the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP).
That step is logical because it is in keeping with three previous steps which, in JLP terms, were monumental.
First, Prime Minister Bruce Golding did what no other JLP leader has done - give up the job voluntarily, without being ill, as was the case of the only other leader of government to step away - the People's National Party's (PNP) Mr Michael Manley in 1992. The PNP's Mr PJ Patterson also gave up the job in 2006.
Second, upon the resignation of Mr Golding, the JLP - in record time - coalesced around one leader, Mr Holness and thus avoided the well known, almost traditional leadership skirmishes, best remembered by the so-called Gang of Five saga; the beating of Mr Pearnel Charles at a party conference outside the National Arena; and the departure of Mr Golding to form the National Democratic Movement in 1995. The only skirmish related to Mr Golding's 2011 resignation, and that is if it can be called that, was the short-lived and ill-advised attempt by some party enthusiasts to have Mr Holness forego what seemed to be his birthright in favour of Mr Audley Shaw.
Third, the postponement of the internal party elections for positions, including chairman, in which Mr Robert Montague, the agriculture minister had thrown down the gauntlett to Mr Mike Henry. Clearly, This was also to avoid any frissons that could lead to disunity ahead of an imminent general election.
In that context, we had expected Mr Henry to step away the moment the JDIP scandal burst, if for nothing else but to to spare his party the trauma of defending a flawed minister, but more importantly, to do the right and honourable thing.
Mr Henry has appeared slow off the mark in the new JLP. Recall that he was absent at that historic crowning of Mr Holness and some questioned whether he still had leadership aspirations, even if that was nothing more than a pipe dream.
We don't know, but we suspect that Mr Henry was pushed. Even then, it is still a huge step to have a minister resign over alleged shenanigans at an agency under his portfolio and worse, on the eve of elections. That too, we suggest, is a symbol of the continuing evolution of the JLP which is positioning itself as the party of the future.
It is a metamorphosis that is bound to affect the People's National Party (PNP), the other major political party and with which the JLP has shared political power since Adult Suffrage in 1944.
The PNP is seemingly finding it difficult to redefine itself in the post-Manley/Patterson period. But it must if it is to continue to boast that Jamaica is "PNP country".
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz1fNRz2FZE
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