Heather Robinson
ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT I watched portions of the re-broadcast of the funeral service of Coretta Scott King. I heard President William Jefferson Clinton's message as well as that of Senator Hillary Clinton. Listening to the response that President Clinton received from the congregation, I was reminded of the great love and affection that the American people continue to express for Mr. Clinton. Was this the same man who was impeached while in office for a 'relationship' with Monica Lewinsky?
All politicians want to be remembered well and so one hopes that they seek to live lives that will provide constituents with cherished memories. In fact, it is even more basic than this. Politicians hope that people will still like them once they enter retirement. Bill Clinton has been retired now for six years and continues to enjoy an enviable popularity with the American people.
At this point of transition in the leadership of the People's National Party (PNP), it is useful to look at how we have treated those who have served us, while we also look forward to the new leadership within the PNP. Norman Manley did not really live to enjoy retirement, and died on the same day that there was a by-election in East Central St. Andrew to elect his replacement. Dr. Kenneth McNeill was the successful candidate.
Alexander Bustamante lived for several years in retirement, and was at that time too old to manage a busy social schedule. The next leader who retired from political life was Michael Manley, in 1992. Michael was very well loved, and one can recall the first time he went to the Kingston Public Hospital for radiotherapy, how well he was greeted. His funeral in 1997 was a testimony to the life that he lived and how he was cherished by not only us here in Jamaica but internationally.
WILL WE CHERISH PJ?
In a few weeks, Percival Noel James Patterson will retire as the president of the PNP and Prime Minister of Jamaica. Will Jamaicans allow Mr. Patterson to enjoy his retirement, and will we cherish him?
For my own part, I have several memories of P.J. Patterson that I will cherish - from my first memory of him in 1962 when my mother fried all those dozens of gogli fish, to his representation of some of us members of the Press Association of Jamaica in 1983. He argued successfully in court one Friday night to have the venue of the association's annual general meeting moved from the Mico College. And, of course, I will never forget how in 1991 he sat in his Isuzu Trooper and cried as Prime Minister Michael Manley was flown from the Norman Manley Airport on an air ambulance.
As Percival Patterson prepares to retire, he too must be taking many retrospective looks. The real question, however, is who from among the four candidates can look back and say that he or she has lived a life about which 20 years from now the people of Jamaica will say 'We are well pleased'.
P.J. Patterson's successor is at a distinct advantage. The PNP's fourth president has the opportunity to chart a course for the party that will make it not just an election machinery, but one that returns to a core function: that of ensuring that its membership and supporters have the requisite political education classes.
Equally, as Prime Minister, this individual must use the time in office to make meaningful changes to the lives of the Jamaican people. The candidate who can best do this is the one who has the capacity to make fundamental improvements for all of us. It is this person who will be able to use the time in office to become a cherished leader.
Heather Robinson is a life underwriter and a former Member of Parliament.
