Tweet
The Golding Cabinet and double jeopardy
Geof Brown
Friday, September 14, 2007
Events have moved swiftly since the JLP election victory barely a week ago. Bruce Golding has been sworn-in with another fine almost inspirational speech from the new prime minister. And within a day of that well-attended and rather well-organised event, the new Cabinet has already been named. Hardly has that been announced than intimations of controversy concerning its size (larger than that of the previous government and larger than promised in the JLP manifesto), have surfaced. The stock of goodwill which has marked the rise of Orette Bruce Golding to power is facing an early test in the varied, though largely positive, reactions to his Cabinet choices. And speaking of goodwill, there were three former prime ministers at the swearing-in of Mr Golding, making fully half the total of prime ministers since independence in the same place.
The fact that half of our eight prime ministers since independence are still alive, is a pertinent reminder to those who make shallow comparisons between Jamaica and the centuries-old USA or the multi-centuries-old Great Britain. And that fact is also a reminder that as a nation we have no nationally crafted long-standing traditions to draw on. We are in evolution, never mind the legacy of colonialism, which like hand-me-down clothes might somewhat fit, but were not expressly made for us. So the new prime minister's Cabinet choices mark a part of our evolving political culture, as we try to fit our own political garments to the size and nature of our political circumstances. I suggest, in that regard, that the prime minister's choices reflect the double jeopardy in which he finds himself.
"Double jeopardy" is that excellent legal term which has found its way into everyday language. Its nearest translation in Jamaica's primary spoken dialect is: "Anywey yu tun, macka juk yu". Any way Mr Golding turned in selecting his Cabinet, he faced daunting challenges. With a razor-thin majority, he had to satisfy members of the old guard, now termed the "Seagaites", or face a possible walk across the floor of one, two or three of them. Don't laugh. In the previous administration of the PNP government, three members of the JLP Opposition did walk over to the PNP side with much less to be disgruntled about than the denial of a Cabinet seat. Even the currently very loyal JLP general secretary, Karl Samuda, did such a walk, not to mention the prime minister himself jumping party ship twice.
So much for colonial legacy and using the Westminster model's hand-me-down clothes. Babsy Grange, Pearnel Charles and Michael Henry could easily have walked across the floor of Parliament, had the prime minister not given them Cabinet seats. How likely is it that Britain's Tory and Labour parties would experience such senior party personnel exchanging party loyalties out of disgruntlement? Then there are the young Turks who helped to catapult Golding into power by ousting Seaga. They had to be rewarded. Thus, James Robertson, prime representative of that group, had to be given a Cabinet seat as a minister, albeit without portfolio.
Seaga must be chuckling ironically as his loyalists necessarily predominate in the Golding choices. But look for several appointments of other young Turks at significant sub-ministerial levels.
With little room to choose other than he has been forced to do, the prime minister did manage some creativity. Taking Don Wehby from the private sector is a stroke of genius. He will be paid by his home firm GraceKennedy, thus sparing taxpayers a ministerial salary. But more, no one can quarrel with his appointment, clearly made to shore up Audley Shaw as minister of finance. By appointing Dr Chris Tufton to agriculture and Ruddy Spencer to health, the prime minister is putting new blood into two critical areas of national life, and these are bases for prosperity. Similarly, the appointment of Dr Ken Baugh as deputy prime minister is a smart move and for government stability is an obvious improvement on the PNP's rotation model. Although his foreign-affairs experience is rather limited, he is in essence the diplomat.
I am not commenting on logical and expected choices such as Holness for Education, Smith for National Security, Bartlett for Tourism, Mullings for Energy, Mining and Telecommunications, Charles for Labour and Social Security, Babsy Grange for Information, Culture, Youth and Sports (a mouthful). Similarly, Samuda for Commerce and Industry, Chang for Water and Housing are logical picks. But Delroy Chuck as Speaker of the House seems a misplacement of his talents as a floor debater. Lloyd B Smith may be right in suggesting that with expected strong floor fights in a near 50/50 Parliament, a strong legal mind will be needed in the chair. The matter of only two women in the Cabinet will not help the government's image of concern for gender equality, notwithstanding the excellent choice of former senator Dorothy Lightbourne as attorney general and minister of justice.
Correction and retraction
The print and broadcast media has played a critical if not pivotal role in the recent elections, what with purveying and interpreting the various opinion polls. Last week's article, "Winners and losers of the elections" had one of the strongest positive responses this column has ever received.
In that regard, I wish to retract and apologise to Nationwide radio for relaying incorrect information re the prediction of hosts Cliff Hughes and Emily Crooks. They did not predict a 50/19 split in favour of the JLP as relayed. Instead, they predicted a 39/21 split in a range of up to 45/15 if there was a large turnout. I am grateful to chief host Cliff Hughes for pointing out the inaccuracy.
- browngeof@hotmail.com
Geof Brown
Friday, September 14, 2007
Events have moved swiftly since the JLP election victory barely a week ago. Bruce Golding has been sworn-in with another fine almost inspirational speech from the new prime minister. And within a day of that well-attended and rather well-organised event, the new Cabinet has already been named. Hardly has that been announced than intimations of controversy concerning its size (larger than that of the previous government and larger than promised in the JLP manifesto), have surfaced. The stock of goodwill which has marked the rise of Orette Bruce Golding to power is facing an early test in the varied, though largely positive, reactions to his Cabinet choices. And speaking of goodwill, there were three former prime ministers at the swearing-in of Mr Golding, making fully half the total of prime ministers since independence in the same place.
The fact that half of our eight prime ministers since independence are still alive, is a pertinent reminder to those who make shallow comparisons between Jamaica and the centuries-old USA or the multi-centuries-old Great Britain. And that fact is also a reminder that as a nation we have no nationally crafted long-standing traditions to draw on. We are in evolution, never mind the legacy of colonialism, which like hand-me-down clothes might somewhat fit, but were not expressly made for us. So the new prime minister's Cabinet choices mark a part of our evolving political culture, as we try to fit our own political garments to the size and nature of our political circumstances. I suggest, in that regard, that the prime minister's choices reflect the double jeopardy in which he finds himself.
"Double jeopardy" is that excellent legal term which has found its way into everyday language. Its nearest translation in Jamaica's primary spoken dialect is: "Anywey yu tun, macka juk yu". Any way Mr Golding turned in selecting his Cabinet, he faced daunting challenges. With a razor-thin majority, he had to satisfy members of the old guard, now termed the "Seagaites", or face a possible walk across the floor of one, two or three of them. Don't laugh. In the previous administration of the PNP government, three members of the JLP Opposition did walk over to the PNP side with much less to be disgruntled about than the denial of a Cabinet seat. Even the currently very loyal JLP general secretary, Karl Samuda, did such a walk, not to mention the prime minister himself jumping party ship twice.
So much for colonial legacy and using the Westminster model's hand-me-down clothes. Babsy Grange, Pearnel Charles and Michael Henry could easily have walked across the floor of Parliament, had the prime minister not given them Cabinet seats. How likely is it that Britain's Tory and Labour parties would experience such senior party personnel exchanging party loyalties out of disgruntlement? Then there are the young Turks who helped to catapult Golding into power by ousting Seaga. They had to be rewarded. Thus, James Robertson, prime representative of that group, had to be given a Cabinet seat as a minister, albeit without portfolio.
Seaga must be chuckling ironically as his loyalists necessarily predominate in the Golding choices. But look for several appointments of other young Turks at significant sub-ministerial levels.
With little room to choose other than he has been forced to do, the prime minister did manage some creativity. Taking Don Wehby from the private sector is a stroke of genius. He will be paid by his home firm GraceKennedy, thus sparing taxpayers a ministerial salary. But more, no one can quarrel with his appointment, clearly made to shore up Audley Shaw as minister of finance. By appointing Dr Chris Tufton to agriculture and Ruddy Spencer to health, the prime minister is putting new blood into two critical areas of national life, and these are bases for prosperity. Similarly, the appointment of Dr Ken Baugh as deputy prime minister is a smart move and for government stability is an obvious improvement on the PNP's rotation model. Although his foreign-affairs experience is rather limited, he is in essence the diplomat.
I am not commenting on logical and expected choices such as Holness for Education, Smith for National Security, Bartlett for Tourism, Mullings for Energy, Mining and Telecommunications, Charles for Labour and Social Security, Babsy Grange for Information, Culture, Youth and Sports (a mouthful). Similarly, Samuda for Commerce and Industry, Chang for Water and Housing are logical picks. But Delroy Chuck as Speaker of the House seems a misplacement of his talents as a floor debater. Lloyd B Smith may be right in suggesting that with expected strong floor fights in a near 50/50 Parliament, a strong legal mind will be needed in the chair. The matter of only two women in the Cabinet will not help the government's image of concern for gender equality, notwithstanding the excellent choice of former senator Dorothy Lightbourne as attorney general and minister of justice.
Correction and retraction
The print and broadcast media has played a critical if not pivotal role in the recent elections, what with purveying and interpreting the various opinion polls. Last week's article, "Winners and losers of the elections" had one of the strongest positive responses this column has ever received.
In that regard, I wish to retract and apologise to Nationwide radio for relaying incorrect information re the prediction of hosts Cliff Hughes and Emily Crooks. They did not predict a 50/19 split in favour of the JLP as relayed. Instead, they predicted a 39/21 split in a range of up to 45/15 if there was a large turnout. I am grateful to chief host Cliff Hughes for pointing out the inaccuracy.
- browngeof@hotmail.com