Earl Moxam, Senior Gleaner Writer
DR. PETER PHILLIPS - FILE
DR. PETER Phillips, the man who narrowly lost the contest for the presidency of the governing People's National Party (PNP) earlier this year, is warning against growing evidence of disunity among party members, hinting that it could cost the four-term government the next general election.
Conceding "no doubt that there have been some problems" (of disunity), Dr. Phillips told The Gleaner that "more needs to be done by all concerned to ensure that people understand that this is not a time for vindictiveness; this is not a time for settling scores."
UNDER PRESSURE
Since Phillips lost the presidential election to Portia Simpson Miller on February 25, several incumbent Members of Parliament and constituency chairmen who supported him in the contest have come under pressure from others seeking to replace them as candidates for the next general election.
While asserting the right of all qualified aspirants to challenge for these positions, Phillips is cautioning against such actions being taken simply to seek revenge against those who supported him.
In contrast to the present situation, he contends that in similar circumstances in the past, the party leadership exerted influence to avoid damaging infighting. Party leaders, he said, "intervened to protect constituency organisations and indicate in a manner that would convince those who would have been so minded that it was a futile exercise."
HISTORY
Exhorting the party to learn from its history, Phillips, a political scientist by training, is seeking to remind members that "every time the PNP has suffered defeat at the polls, it has been because we have been divided."
He expressed optimism, however, that the appointment of a new general secretary - Colin Campbell, - ending an un-comfortable interregnum for that post in the party, might enhance the speed and efficiency with
which it responds to some internal problems.
In the February 25 PNP presidential election, Dr. Peter Phillips secured 1,538 delegate votes, placing him second to Mrs. Simpson Miller, who won with 1,775 votes, and consequently became PNP president and was appointed Prime Minister, succeeding the long-serving P.J. Patterson.
Phillips went into the election with the avowed support of a majority of the
sitting MPs and other persons of influence in the party. This proved insufficient to secure him the coveted position, however, as some delegates apparently voted against the stated desires of their own MPs and constituency chairmen.
ATTEMPTS TO OUST MPs
Some of those MPs, he said, were now of the view that attempts were being made to oust them. When pressed as to the validity of such claims, Dr. Phillips conceded that "in some cases it might be a contrived defence, while in others it would seem to have more validity."
While cautioning against a culture of victimisation in the wake of the presidential election, Phillips, a vice-president of the PNP and Minister of National Security, insists that he continues to enjoy a good relationship with Mrs. Simpson Miller, to whom he said he remains loyal in her capacity as party president and Prime Minister.
He also praised the decision of Mrs. Simpson Miller to appoint Dr. Paul Robertson, who was a key member of his presidential campaign, to chair a monitoring committee overseeing the candidate selection process now taking place in the constituencies.
