Heather Robinson
On Monday, September 18, the People's National Party ( PNP) celebrated its 68th anniversary, which once more reminded Jamaica that it is the oldest political party in Jamaica. Today marks the start of the two days of private sessions, culminating with the public session of the annual
conference on Sunday. The main highlights of this 68th annual conference are the election of four vice-presidents and the address by party president, Portia Simpson Miller.
The party has chosen 'United and strong for victory' as its theme for this year's conference, which is the first that will be addressed by Mrs. Simpson Miller as president. Unity in a political party is as important as water is to fish, and food to human beings. Without both commodities, fish survive for a few minutes, and human beings can live for several days, but eventually keel over and die. The process before death, however, can be a very painful one, during which time the human body deteriorates through various stages, including dehydration, malnutrition and the loss of one's mental capacity.
On this the first day of the private sessions, delegates will be concentrating on many issues, but with the core issue being the election of four vice-presidents. At the time of writing, efforts were being made to have three of the seven nominated candidates withdraw from the vice-presidential race. I do not know if these efforts will be successful, but what I do know is that there are political consequences that will result either way.
In the first instance, there is not much time in which to negotiate such withdrawals, and these efforts are being made under the full glare and scrutiny of the entire Jamaican electorate. Secondly, if these negotiations yield the desired outcome are there any long-term implications for the internal democracy of the PNP, will this mean that a new precedent has been set (in the
public's eye)?
Nneeds unity
Three individuals are being asked to publicly acknowledge that the People's National Party is more important than they are. This would not be a novel situation in the PNP, or indeed in any political party, and at this time the PNP desperately needs to have proof of demonstrable unity. This unity must be real, and not superficial, and when the electorate looks on its members must be able to feel the unity of the members and supporters of the PNP.
There aren't many things that evoke as much passion as party politics. Since for the most part it is done by volunteers, these individuals accept ownership far easier and quicker than they do with their citizens' or parent-teacher associations. "A fi me" aptly describes how persons feel.
With this in mind, as a delegate for the first time in eleven years, it is my hope that the PNP will emerge from this conference with healing and healed scars inflicted in the aftermath of the February 25 presidential elections; that those who were aggressors on any side will begin to nurture and rub the soothing balm (of cocoa butter) as members work on reuniting the PNP.
Political parties must always remember that it is easier to refurbish an existing structure than to start from scratch. The history of the National Democratic Move-ment best demonstrates this principle. And since political parties operate in the public domain, it is impossible to fool the public about the political health of a party.
The PNP must choose, therefore, the option that best demonstrates to the electorate, that it is a cohesive and coherent political party, that is united and able to lead Jamaica for a fifth term. Failure to do this has long-term consequences, and will make a mockery of the conference theme 'United and strong for victory'.
Heather Robinson is a life underwriter and a former Member of Parliament.
