Dawn Ritch, Contributor

Opposition Leader Bruce Golding says he's not perturbed by polls, but has a press conference nevertheless.

"According to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader, Johnson's latest poll does not reflect what his constituency polls have been reflecting over the last four or five weeks. Those polls, Golding said, showed the JLP leading in all constituencies except one, and showed swings to the JLP of up to 8.7 per cent in one instance." (Daily Observer, May 21)

Somebody needs to advise the Opposition leader to stop talking. Because every time he opens his mouth he incriminates himself. The soundest image advice possible would be to cease and desist.

There are 60 seats, and Bruce is saying at a press conference he has 59 of them. Then whose does he not have in the governing People's National Party (PNP)? Is it only the Prime Minister's?

According to the JLP leader, this is what his scientists have told him. They have told him that the 'Portia factor' is non-existent. It will only be played out in that she is being allowed to keep her seat. Now, I don't know who is counting, but it can't be a national poll.

Try as hard as you can to find every little pocket of support for the Jamaica Labour Party, the Prime Minister and her People's National Party just sail away with national approval.

The latest Bill Johnson Poll shows Mrs. Simpson Miller's poll figures on their way up again. She has established a 19 per cent personal lead over Bruce, and her party is seven per cent ahead of his. That's with the PNP not yet campaigning in the field, and no money.

It shows a rejection of Bruce Golding as having any electoral possibility at all. And it also demonstrates that the Jamaican people believe what she says. A different poll, the CVM Market Research Services survey, shows the two parties in deadlock still.

The irony is that the PNP train has not yet started to roll. It has not built up any momentum yet. They're not out in the field as a party organisation, and have no ads running on electronic media. Unlike the JLP.

Bruce is hysterically calling for general election, and the Prime Minister is completely ignoring him. Only she can decide the date under the Constitution. Bruce should go settle himself and have a drink, because nobody wants to see him. Nobody's turning out.

Nevertheless, at his recent press conference, the Opposition leader said the JLP would win the next election "comfortably". Thus, has his projected landslide on the order of 1980 which he'd publicly promised earlier, dwindled to a mere comfortable margin. All this from the same lips, and before a general election has even been announced. Only a fool or a rank opportunist could take a word he says on faith.

That's a bad quality to have in politics. You need fixed reference points, persistence, ability and the capability not to turn off people, either singly or in droves. So it was clear to me long ago that Bruce Golding, as leader of the JLP and the Opposition, was not even a choice made by a committee. It was made by a computer.

Personal history

Somebody can't just reimage him or herself. Everybody has a personal history and record that seeps like water into the stone of a people's consciousness. Any party that tries to spend money changing an ounce of that is politically insane.

Worse yet, the JLP is causing no end of public controversy with the Endimites Bruce brought in and to whom he gave seats. They all listen to their navels, nothing else. They have a political tin ear. This is demonstrated by Joan Gordon-Webley with her 'Jezebel' remarks about Portia, and Chris Tufton complaining that Buchanan said 'Satan' tempted him.

This only calls public attention to the exemplary life of the country's first female Prime Minister, and casts an unflattering spotlight upon her accusers. Then, Tufton nonsensically reminds the whole country by making a fuss about 'Satan', that in the run-up to the last general election on a JLP platform, he told the assembled crowd of thousands to vote PNP. None of this is helpful to the JLP.

Besides which they use these descriptions as though they were mere swear words and had no other meaning. When Mrs. Simpson Miller quotes from the Bible, or believes in God, this is not done for political effect. That's just the way she is. Myself, I think no sermon should last longer than five minutes, with the sole exception of Anglican parsons, who can speak no more than 15. It's unfair to the human race. Any point can be made memorably in five.

This means there's no time on television for faking controlled anger, or rocking back and forth while stroking your lip. It's the waste of a good sound bite, which is usually only two minutes. Bruce Golding should remember this when next he spends so much time sneering on camera. Their chances are best at the polls if he is retired quickly.

Recovered some lost ground

Mrs. Simpson Miller has just established a commanding lead for the People's National Party, and recovered some lost ground for herself. Another poll shows the statistical deadlock of the past six months in the country remaining unchanged. Both hugely divergent polls have to be viewed against the fact that the PNP party organisation has not yet cranked up in the field. On the other hand, the JLP has been campaigning non-stop for the duration, and plans to give their donors medals.

The only conclusion, therefore, is that when Bruce goes into the field, he digs a deeper hole for himself and his party, and when she goes, she builds credits for herself and hers.

This is a demonstration of the 'Portia factor' in action. Considering the PNP's relative inactivity, both polls give her credibility a boost, and offer no comfort whatsoever to the JLP. So there seems little to be gained from claiming and hoping that her public persona is not an asset.

Above all, and this is where Bruce fails repeatedly and utterly, she inspires trust. That is the currency of politics, and Mrs. Simpson Miller has her very own printing press. All she needs to worry about is inflation, particularly since I hope she will become Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

Years of economic decline have meant that people would sooner have someone to trust than eat food. Such a person represents hope and the future possibility of good order and a prosperous life. There is no substitute for trust.

Whether it's constituency polls, national polls, or the Budget speech, we either trust you or we don't. Those who don't are not even inclined to listen to what you say. Such is the value of trust.

On this overwhelmingly important matter Bruce Golding is bankrupt. Even if a computer selected him, he should never have agreed.