Don Robotham, Contributor
PATTERSON
PRIME MINISTER Patterson, in his interview published in today's Sunday Gleaner, sets out the qualities which he would like the next leader of the PNP to have. Many will scrutinise his words to see if, in the importance attached to "securing economic growth," Mr. Patterson is nodding in a particular direction! But that guessing game is pointless. No doubt the prime minister has his preference. But he is too cagey and experienced an operator to betray them, even vaguely, in public.
In this regard, we in the media could do the society and ourselves a service by setting the example. We should tone down the often frivolous and sensational coverage which, unintentionally to be sure, actually promotes tribalism and shallowness. Jamaica faces huge problems and a constant awareness of this reality should set a framework of seriousness for how we approach the leadership issue.
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES?
The key question for us should be: what are the issues facing Jamaica and which of these would-be leaders and their team seem best able to address them? From this point of view, I find the prime minister's reflections complacent. Yes, indeed, we could all make various lists of the most urgent problems facing Jamaica: for most, crime, the economy and education would probably top the list. There is also the issue of personal integrity (values and attitudes!) and willingness to rise above party tribalism and garrison politics; as well as the question of injustice legal as well as socio-economic. Income and other inequalities have increased greatly in Jamaica over the last ten years, severely straining our social fabric, which was never strong to begin with.
Further, Jamaica is a small country trying to make its way in a very complex and charged international environment dominated by the politically and economically powerful. This question goes far beyond the issue of regionalism which the prime minister, predictably,
raises. We desperately need leaders who better understand this international arena and can advance our interests in this complex and difficult field.
GENERALISED FAILURE
But the problem is broader and deeper and goes far beyond the making of lists. The
problem we face is one of a generalised failure in the institutions of the society which are
taking us closer than we care to admit to the status of a failed state. This is the meaning of the appointment of a senior British police officer to an executive command position in our police force an essential and long overdue move.
Mr. Patterson has been a master of symbolic cultural politics as well as a uniter rather than a divider. But this is a wake-up call which tells us where we really are as a nation, more than 40 years after political independence and two years after Emancipation Park. In a vital area of our domestic affairs, we are simply unable to cope! It is only one example of a much broader and deeper crisis: Jamaica has a major problem of institutional failure, and not only in the public sector.
The prime criterion for selecting new leadership therefore must be the extent to which the would-be leaders (or their supporters, 'large' and 'small') show any sign of grasping the enormity of the challenge which Jamaica faces. Do they grasp that this is a broad and deep crisis? Do they understand the source of this crisis and how to address it? So far, the signs are not encouraging. But we must hold their feet to the fire until we compel them to yield the results we deserve.
