Jamaicans are a little more upbeat about the People's National Party (PNP) and its leadership, the latest Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll shows.

The poll, conducted on January 5 and 6, shows that of 1,008 Jamaicans interviewed by Johnson's research team across the island's 14 parishes, 39 per cent of people feel the PNP would do a better job of governing the country than the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). This is an improvement of one per cent over October when 38 per cent of people polled felt the PNP would do a better job of governing.

According to the poll, 42 per cent of people have a favourable opinion of the PNP, again, only a one per cent improvement over October 2006.

The JLP, however, slid slightly at the turn of the new year. Thirty-two per cent of people think the party will govern better, down by one per cent from the October poll. Favourable opinion of the party is also down three per cent, moving from 48 per cent to 45 per cent.

PNP slipping

But overall more people have been looking to the JLP as the party that would do a better job of governing the country. The party made a three per cent improvement over March and a six per cent gain over May. Meanwhile, the PNP has been slipping since March, losing 11 per cent in leadership opinion and five per cent in favourable opinion.

Political commentator Kevin O'brien Chang says the PNP may have gained marginal ground because the memories of the Trafigura Beheer scandal are fading and the economy is seeing fairer days. Tourism arrivals are up 17 per cent and the Planning Institute of Jamaica says the economy has grown by 2.7 per cent, the best growth the country has seen in a number of years.

Analyst Lambert Brown believes the gain in ground for the PNP could be stemming from a new perception that the party is moving towards unity. "The PNP with time having put the leadership issue more and more behind them has the capacity to be organised and that could tilt the balance back in favour of Portia Simpson," he said.

The JLP has slipped marginally because it has not been giving the people a reason to vote for them O'brien Chang perceives.