Robert Buddan A FIRST round of change towards a new order has taken place in the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). This 60th JLP Conference has a historic ring to it. Reform-minded leaders have won two positions as deputy leaders. They have displaced old guard loyalists and made the established leadership more vulnerable than ever before.
There is another round to come shortly. By late November the JLP's Central Executive will have elections of its officers. Prized positions like chairman and general secretary (and their deputies) are to be decided. The reformers expect their gains to deepen. This will most certainly be the case if Bruce Golding is nominated for chairman or
general secretary since he will most likely win.
Someone needs to convince Mr. Golding that his time is now. Some of his main supporters believe so. He must be seen as part of this first wave of new leaders rather than as the opportunist who lets others beat the barriers down for him to make an easy entry; or as the coward who steps forward only after he is sure the way has been cleared for him.
MR. GOLDING'S TIME
Mr. Golding has good reasons to make his step forward now as chairman or general secretary. Jamaican opinion, according to recent polls, show that he is the best person to lead the JLP (as they have done for at least a decade). Christopher Tufton has shown that one can come from the National Democratic Movement (NDM) to win a leadership position in a JLP organisation after winning the presidency of G2K.
JLP delegates of Regions Two and Four have shown that they are willing to go against the status quo and elect persons that the public associates with Golding's movement for change; and more to the point, that pro-Golding candidates can defeat pro-Seaga candidates as Robertson and Chang did at the party level and as Tufton did at the G2K level. And Mr. Golding can take heart from the fact that it was the spirit of the newly emerging JLP
that won the local government
elections.
Mr. Golding will strengthen his own legitimacy in the JLP if he moves from the periphery of the organisation to the centre and if he plays his part in tearing down the old order rather than risking that it will simply crumble. And, he must act decisively. He cannot give the old guard time to reinforce the crumbling walls. Mr. Seaga is extremely tenacious. Timing is everything and there is a time to be decisive.
Mr. Robertson said that the party elections were a platform for a revolution in the JLP. Well, the revolution needs a leader. It says something about the years of stagnancy of the JLP when reforms become a revolutionary idea. This "revolutionary" movement needs a leader especially if there is doubt about the vision that some reformers have. Editorials of the Jamaica Observer consider James Robertson a reformer, "even if Mr. Robertson does not carry cerebral weight or is seen to be fully emerged from old political attitudes." Another editorial suggested that at best Mr. Robertson represented reformism, something short of the deeper transformation that the JLP needs.
On at least two occasions, those editorials strongly criticised young Mr. Gallimore for his attitude to contract work after the Temple Hall murders. That attitude belongs to the old order. It seems as though the JLP's change agents and younger leaders need upfront leadership from someone with clear ideas about what the new order is as distinct from the old, someone like Bruce Golding.
A SHIFT OF AUTHORITY
Mr. Golding should therefore take note of the support he received at the conference, one that was at least comparable to that of Mr. Seaga. That support reflected the felt-need for younger leadership and for a new kind of party. The fact that Mr. Seaga could not influence the votes of the delegates in spite of last minute appeals does suggest that JLP delegates are more independent now compared to the past. But it is clear that, as a Jamaica Observer editorial said, Mr. Seaga's authority has been lessened. His effectiveness as party leader has been reduced. He no longer has the 'One Don' power of the past or the autocratic base in the party to declare, 'My way or the highway'.
Should Mr. Golding fail to act, an authority gap will develop in the JLP. When support shifts from one party leader to another and that leader refuses to transfer that authority to the other leader, confusion, frustration and doubt about the party will arise. Mr. Seaga is hardly likely to declare a vacancy and Mr. Golding might have to engage in what he has been trying to avoid all along a head to head confrontation to settle the issue once and for all.
THE STENCH OF THE OLD ORDER
The need for change is evident judging from newspaper reports of the JLP conference. It seemed to have displayed all the signs of decadence associated with the old politics. I note some of them. The smell of ganja was strong and one report suggested some selling on the side inside the National Arena. All organisations wishing to use the Arena, a symbol of national excellence, should satisfy the authorities that controls are in place to guard against abuse. National parties must establish standards of the nation and stop playing to those who disregard the country's laws and flout authority in the face.
One report remarked that free food and drinks were available for much of the last day. This arouses images of cheap political tricks to buy loyalty. Mr. Seaga himself seemed to have accused the Robertson camp of spending big money to buy votes. If this was not true, and Robertson said it was not, then a leader like Mr. Seaga should set a better example, especially if his own party is giving away free food and drinks to buy loyalty.
'Babsy' Grange said the election which she lost was corrupt. This was not substantiated but again, the former deputy leader must be more responsible and should not take cheap shots which are not in the spirit of party democracy and collegiality. The JLP's reputation for corrupt, or at least dubious, party elections is bad enough. This must change.
Some reports hinted at voter intimidation supposedly from 'one-order' gang supporters. If this is true, the JLP must cease the practice of intimidation, especially if it is going to use violent gang members to come to a party conference, the highest democratic authority of the party, to intimidate those party members while they are exercising their democracy.
The lack of competitive spirit appeared evident. Personal animosity for which Mr. Seaga's leadership has been so well-known was also displayed by Miss Grange. She reportedly said she would not work with James Robertson, after losing to him, although she later recanted. But Mr. Seaga, who should be more mature than this, said he would not work with anyone who bought votes, clearly angry over Robertson's victory. This failure of the party leadership to work together as a team has plagued it for a long time.
Mr. Seaga's own partisanship is part of this old politics. It was clear which candidates he wanted to win, having tried to discourage the challengers. This was untraditional but not unprecedented. He did come out openly for Audley Shaw against Pearnel Charles in the race for deputy leader in 2000. That was unprecedented. Neither that occasion nor this went down well.
But there is another example of old politics. Mr. Seaga admitted that he was against the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) because he did not trust the governing People's National Party (PNP). But the JLP can propose amendments as it has done on many pieces of legislation. As for the CCJ, it is not a PNP court but a court of CARICOM. There is no political basis for this lack of trust. It is, as I have always felt, a basic paranoia which Mr. Seaga displays towards his own party members as well.
CLEAN UP
Mr. Golding must clean up the JLP so that its politics is democratic, civil, and mature. He must work to establish a working trust with the PNP, not an opportunistic bipartisanship that comes and goes. A democracy requires enough trust between parties for the one in government to freely and fairly allow the one in opposition to compete, and govern; and for both parties to be able to agree on fundamentals. The country waits for Mr. Golding to step up to the wicket.
* Robert Buddan lectures in the Department of Government, UWI, Mona.
E-Mail: Robert.
Buddan@uwimona.edu.jm
