Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
Bruce Golding pats a youngster while leaving the Denham Town High School after a brief visit earlier this year. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
FOR SOME Jamaicans, Opposition leader Bruce Golding represents the country's greatest hope for a new beginning and a much-needed change. But for others, the thought of him some day leading the nation as prime minister is a rather scary one. They regard Golding as the doyen of old-school political tribalism and so-called 'dirty politics'.
After a 25-year-long relationship with the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Mr. Golding resigned as chairman on February 23, 1995.
LAUNCH OF THE NDM
With pronouncements of having a new determination to see Jamaica move away from old-style politics, he went on to launch the National Democratic Movement (NDM) on October 29, 1995, on the premise that he could no longer be a part of the criminality and corruption that he said had engulfed the two traditional parties in their quest for power. It was this move that won over the hearts of many Jamaicans.
But on September 26, 2002, just over seven years after quitting the JLP and suffering an election defeat as the NDM leader, Mr. Golding formally returned to the party, ending two or three years of speculation that he might return to the party he once chaired.
Mr. Golding's return to the JLP was, for that party, a joyous event. He was seen as the secret ingredient that might lead them to electoral victory. But Mr. Golding's return to the JLP was taken as a slap in the face by others who believed that he had turned his back on the ideals he had promised to promulgate through the NDM.
With Edward Seaga stepping down from the top post of the JLP, Mr. Golding was officially named leader of the Opposition on February 20, this year.
Since being named leader of the Opposition, Mr. Golding has raised more than a few eyebrows. From his now infamous 'Bangarang' speech to his inititation of a day of protest against government policies and high prices.
But just how well would Golding fare against the People's National Party (PNP) delegates vying for the post of prime minister? Many political pundits perceive Mr. Golding as a strong leader, perhaps stronger than Portia Simpson Miller, but not as likeable. They also envision him struggling against the likes of Omar Davies and Peter Phillips in the area of sheer job know-how. However, the jury is still out.
Note: The Sunday Gleaner welcomes your comments on the selection of a new leader and prime minister. Please email your views to editor@gleanerjm.com or write to The Editor, The Sunday Gleaner, 7 North Street, Kingston.
