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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>PNP's fifth term or Portia's first?</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Lloyd B Smith
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>When prime minister and PNP president Portia Lucretia Simpson Miller was reported to have responded, "Don't ask me, ask the PNP" (or words to that effect), when journalists asked her whether the controversial Trafigura Beheer "donation" had been returned, it was perhaps at best a Freudian slip or at worst an indirect admission that she wished to distance herself from a party that has been in office too long and therefore the people want to see the back of it.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=80 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Lloyd B Smith </SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>As the PNP spin doctors buckle down in the bunker, they will be challenged to come up with an election strategy that asks the Jamaican people not so much to give it a fifth term, but to give Sister P her first term. A subtle difference, yes, but depending on how this is played out on the minds of the Jamaican electorate, it could have a telling effect. After all, that is why Mrs Simpson Miller has been insisting that she wants her own mandate.<P class=StoryText align=justify>On the other hand, the Opposition JLP could well argue that their leader Bruce Golding is also deserving of getting his first term. The problem with that proposition is that Golding lacks the charisma which Portia has in abundance, so when the more discerning voter looks at both front-runners, it will boil down not so much to likeability but who has the better ideas and is better able to implement them. In this vein, Bruce the Technocrat has the edge over Portia the Populist.<P class=StoryText align=justify>But traditionally, the Jamaican people have always opted for the person whom they like better in this two-horse race, so in the final analysis, Sister P does pack a lot of punch which is what a tired, battle-weary PNP is hoping will bring home the bacon.<P class=StoryText align=justify>At present, the JLP is reasonably confident, based on its own assessment of the political landscape that it can comfortably take home 40 of the 60 seats up for grabs. The PNP may well be looking at a 35/25 split, as in terms of candidate choices and the residual effects of the presidential race, the party will be hard-put to achieve a sweeping majority. Unless, of course, Bruce Golding says or does something stupid, which is quite likely, especially now that we are in the silly season.<P class=StoryText align=justify>And while the PNP seeks to posit its raison d'etre for seeking a fifth term on the basis that Sister P deserves her own mandate and the JLP says enough is enough, the bottom line is that the Jamaican people are being short-changed in real terms, because the burning issues of the day are not being addressed. A snap preview of how trivial the coming election campaign may become is the current thesis being bandied about that the resounding success of the opening ceremony for Cricket World Cup at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium and the possible ultimate victory of the West Indies team in the finals will provide the PNP with that often elusive feel-good factor.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Those who embrace this view are forgetting the prophetic words as sung by Bob Marley and enunciated by Louise Bennett, "Rain a fall but di dutty tuff, Pot a bwile but di food no nuff." Perhaps if it were World Cup Football, the PNP would stand a better chance, but cricket ain't just cricket anymore. Thanks to cultural penetration from "up North" via cable television and Internet access, the average Jamaican youth is now more tu
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Lloyd B Smith
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>When prime minister and PNP president Portia Lucretia Simpson Miller was reported to have responded, "Don't ask me, ask the PNP" (or words to that effect), when journalists asked her whether the controversial Trafigura Beheer "donation" had been returned, it was perhaps at best a Freudian slip or at worst an indirect admission that she wished to distance herself from a party that has been in office too long and therefore the people want to see the back of it.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=80 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Lloyd B Smith </SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>As the PNP spin doctors buckle down in the bunker, they will be challenged to come up with an election strategy that asks the Jamaican people not so much to give it a fifth term, but to give Sister P her first term. A subtle difference, yes, but depending on how this is played out on the minds of the Jamaican electorate, it could have a telling effect. After all, that is why Mrs Simpson Miller has been insisting that she wants her own mandate.<P class=StoryText align=justify>On the other hand, the Opposition JLP could well argue that their leader Bruce Golding is also deserving of getting his first term. The problem with that proposition is that Golding lacks the charisma which Portia has in abundance, so when the more discerning voter looks at both front-runners, it will boil down not so much to likeability but who has the better ideas and is better able to implement them. In this vein, Bruce the Technocrat has the edge over Portia the Populist.<P class=StoryText align=justify>But traditionally, the Jamaican people have always opted for the person whom they like better in this two-horse race, so in the final analysis, Sister P does pack a lot of punch which is what a tired, battle-weary PNP is hoping will bring home the bacon.<P class=StoryText align=justify>At present, the JLP is reasonably confident, based on its own assessment of the political landscape that it can comfortably take home 40 of the 60 seats up for grabs. The PNP may well be looking at a 35/25 split, as in terms of candidate choices and the residual effects of the presidential race, the party will be hard-put to achieve a sweeping majority. Unless, of course, Bruce Golding says or does something stupid, which is quite likely, especially now that we are in the silly season.<P class=StoryText align=justify>And while the PNP seeks to posit its raison d'etre for seeking a fifth term on the basis that Sister P deserves her own mandate and the JLP says enough is enough, the bottom line is that the Jamaican people are being short-changed in real terms, because the burning issues of the day are not being addressed. A snap preview of how trivial the coming election campaign may become is the current thesis being bandied about that the resounding success of the opening ceremony for Cricket World Cup at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium and the possible ultimate victory of the West Indies team in the finals will provide the PNP with that often elusive feel-good factor.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Those who embrace this view are forgetting the prophetic words as sung by Bob Marley and enunciated by Louise Bennett, "Rain a fall but di dutty tuff, Pot a bwile but di food no nuff." Perhaps if it were World Cup Football, the PNP would stand a better chance, but cricket ain't just cricket anymore. Thanks to cultural penetration from "up North" via cable television and Internet access, the average Jamaican youth is now more tu