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Six years after she was first elected to the coveted presidency of the People's National Party (PNP), in a divisive leadership contest that caused the splintering of the party into two factions, the protagonists have since reunited around their first female leader. She led her party to a very convincing victory at last December's polls. The victory came a mere eight weeks or so before the sixth anniversary of Portia Simpson Miller's elevation to party's presidency!
When the history of the rise of Portia Simpson Miller is written, it must chronicle the fact that she has been underestimated from her very entry in representational politics as a prospective councillor in 1974 in what considered a 'safe' Jamaica Labour Part (JLP) constituency in Wilton Gardens. She triumphed against all odds in the 1976 general election as the member of parliament for South West St Andrew.
Her competitors continued underestimating her mettle, appeal and razzmatazz to the poor and downtrodden as well as to members of the middle and upper classes to their detriment. Her stature was often dismissed as a flash in the pan phenom that could and would not withstand any serious challenge or a sustained class assault on her credentials and or absence of a solid middle or working-class background. But she was viewed by many within and outside the PNP as the secret weapon to political success.
So with the veranda and chattering classes framing the political dialogue in terms that reflected their own prejudices and predispositions, Simpson Miller was dismissed as a mere pretender when she mounted her challenge for the presidency of the party in 2006.
In what was a hotly contested internal pool, Simpson Miller emerged victorious with a 200-plus vote victory which was actually less than 50 per cent of the party's registered delegates. Her opponents, not convinced of the legitimacy of her victory, remounted another challenge, a year later and to their dismay, she increased her victory margin.
With the stinging bitterness of their defeat lingering, her opponents pretty much laid down arms in going into the 2007 general election and this, plus a party beset by scandals and dogged by the malaise and fatigue of incumbency, the JLP barely managed a victory.
Well, following the PNP's defeat, Simpson Miller went into the fields to reconnect with the voters, while the JLP basked in their somewhat nebulous victory and her party opponents postured as the Portia alternative.
It pretty soon became clear to her opponents in the party that Simpson Miller could lead the PNP to an electoral victory without their active support, so a unified front was accommodated by all. The JLP went about its merry way alienating voters and its base and with the mistaken notion supported by the upwardly mobile wing and middle and upper classes, Simpson Miller represented no threat to their continuing in government.
Mind you, the fact that both Bruce Golding and his successor Andrew Holness never rose to the occasion in fulfilling the mandate they set themselves never occurred to the card-carrying members of the JLP. And, they too, like her opponents in her own party, underestimated her tenacity to their peril!
In rising to the very top of the PNP heap, despite the insurgency and sustained attack on her social and intellectual capacity, Simpson Miller reordered the Jamaican political order. And not unlike the many who still hold on to the vestiges of colonial life and post-colonial legacy, Simpson Miller is the new standard-bearer of populist politics.
gala dinner and cabaret
And so the party officers, stalwarts, rank-and-file supporters, and a number of leading personalities came out on Saturday, February 25, for the gala dinner and cabaret, in celebration of her sixth year as president of the PNP. It was a political love fest and nothing but!
Dears, hosted at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, the event was standing room only and compèred by the distinguished Fae Ellington, it saw a charmingly entertaining offering by the oh so fab Faith D'Aguilar. In her performance, she displayed all the talent verve and Jamaicanness that made of her a very special entertainer for many a years.
Amid the many toasts, the fab fare and insider jokes and punditry that dominated the affair, it was one very charming outing. A fitting salute to a political leader who has not only withstood the tests of time, leadership and the corrosive tongues of her detractors, but has outshone them all. Simpson Miller in her response was as magnanimous as she was a beacon of decorum and style. She acknowledged the criticisms of her detractors while being fulsome in her praise and thanks to those who entrusted their confidence in her. It was a most inspirational speech.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson is regal in red.
When the history of the rise of Portia Simpson Miller is written, it must chronicle the fact that she has been underestimated from her very entry in representational politics as a prospective councillor in 1974 in what considered a 'safe' Jamaica Labour Part (JLP) constituency in Wilton Gardens. She triumphed against all odds in the 1976 general election as the member of parliament for South West St Andrew.
Her competitors continued underestimating her mettle, appeal and razzmatazz to the poor and downtrodden as well as to members of the middle and upper classes to their detriment. Her stature was often dismissed as a flash in the pan phenom that could and would not withstand any serious challenge or a sustained class assault on her credentials and or absence of a solid middle or working-class background. But she was viewed by many within and outside the PNP as the secret weapon to political success.
So with the veranda and chattering classes framing the political dialogue in terms that reflected their own prejudices and predispositions, Simpson Miller was dismissed as a mere pretender when she mounted her challenge for the presidency of the party in 2006.
In what was a hotly contested internal pool, Simpson Miller emerged victorious with a 200-plus vote victory which was actually less than 50 per cent of the party's registered delegates. Her opponents, not convinced of the legitimacy of her victory, remounted another challenge, a year later and to their dismay, she increased her victory margin.
With the stinging bitterness of their defeat lingering, her opponents pretty much laid down arms in going into the 2007 general election and this, plus a party beset by scandals and dogged by the malaise and fatigue of incumbency, the JLP barely managed a victory.
Well, following the PNP's defeat, Simpson Miller went into the fields to reconnect with the voters, while the JLP basked in their somewhat nebulous victory and her party opponents postured as the Portia alternative.
It pretty soon became clear to her opponents in the party that Simpson Miller could lead the PNP to an electoral victory without their active support, so a unified front was accommodated by all. The JLP went about its merry way alienating voters and its base and with the mistaken notion supported by the upwardly mobile wing and middle and upper classes, Simpson Miller represented no threat to their continuing in government.
Mind you, the fact that both Bruce Golding and his successor Andrew Holness never rose to the occasion in fulfilling the mandate they set themselves never occurred to the card-carrying members of the JLP. And, they too, like her opponents in her own party, underestimated her tenacity to their peril!
In rising to the very top of the PNP heap, despite the insurgency and sustained attack on her social and intellectual capacity, Simpson Miller reordered the Jamaican political order. And not unlike the many who still hold on to the vestiges of colonial life and post-colonial legacy, Simpson Miller is the new standard-bearer of populist politics.
gala dinner and cabaret
And so the party officers, stalwarts, rank-and-file supporters, and a number of leading personalities came out on Saturday, February 25, for the gala dinner and cabaret, in celebration of her sixth year as president of the PNP. It was a political love fest and nothing but!
Dears, hosted at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, the event was standing room only and compèred by the distinguished Fae Ellington, it saw a charmingly entertaining offering by the oh so fab Faith D'Aguilar. In her performance, she displayed all the talent verve and Jamaicanness that made of her a very special entertainer for many a years.
Amid the many toasts, the fab fare and insider jokes and punditry that dominated the affair, it was one very charming outing. A fitting salute to a political leader who has not only withstood the tests of time, leadership and the corrosive tongues of her detractors, but has outshone them all. Simpson Miller in her response was as magnanimous as she was a beacon of decorum and style. She acknowledged the criticisms of her detractors while being fulsome in her praise and thanks to those who entrusted their confidence in her. It was a most inspirational speech.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson is regal in red.