Byron Buckley, Actg. Sunday Gleaner Editor

Opposition Leader Bruce Golding's ideas for constitutional reform remain important, although we hear so little about them these days. -Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer and Portia Simpson Miller addreses party supporters at PNP headquarters on the night of her presidential triumph over three other candidates to replace P.J. Patterson as president of the PNP and Prime Minister of Jamaica. - Junior Dowie / Staff Photographer

Golding has transformed the JLP into a unified political machinery, geared at wrenching the reigns of government from the PNP. Simpson Miller, on the other hand, appears to be grappling to stamp her imprimatur on her organisation.

Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader, Bruce Golding, last Sunday 'fessed up' to his political weak spot - a lack of charisma. He told thousands of supporters attending the party's 63rd annual conference at the National Arena in Kingston, that, while he might not be a charismatic leader, he was compassionate.

In defining the quality of leadership he was offering the country, Golding declared: "Some people say I lack charisma ... I am just a simple human being who loves his country, who has an abiding faith in the goodness of the Jamaican people."

By his comments, Golding has placed the leadership qualities of Prime Minister Simpson Miller and himself squarely on the national agenda for discussion. This comes in the wake of recent opinion poll results matching his political performance against the charismatic Simpson Miller.

"I get angry when I see the poverty that engulfs so many of our people. I am upset that we have failed our young people who are left to hang out on the corner with nothing to do," bemoaned Golding. "I am ashamed at the cruelty we show to that old lady who goes to the hospital and is told that she must bring $24,000 before we can remove the tumour that is growing in her belly," he added.

Move over Sister P, Bruce too has compassion for the poor. He may have less kissing ability and platform oratorical skills, but he is a patriot, based on his testimony at last week's conference. "When a woman's door is kicked down and she is murdered in cold blood, I believe that, in a sense, we are accomplices to that murder because we should never have allowed Jamaica to come to this," said Golding.

Golding believes leadership of the country requires more than compassion for the poor and charisma. In his conference speech, he underscored the importance of a leader being able to take a stand, leading from in front. Taking a jab at the Prime Minister, he said, "She evidently believes that loyalty means that you must stay the course even when it is the wrong course that leads to hell and destruction."

Take A Stand

The public has lost some confidence in Mrs. Simpson Miller, as evidenced by recent public opinion poll findings over her mishandling of the Trafigura affair. This involved the People's National Party's (PNP) receipt of $31 million of campaign donation from Trafigura Beheer, a Dutch-based firm that trades Nigerian imported oil on behalf of the Jamaican Government. Colin Campbell, the information minister and PNP general secretary resigned as a result of the incident, while party president, Mrs. Simpson Miller announced that the money would be returned. But sections of the society believed her comments in the Lower House during a subsequent no-confidence vote against the Government were insufficient to bring the issue to closure.

Golding, as Opposition Leader, has received mixed response to the bringing of the Trafigura Affair to public knowledge. He told his audience at conference, "I believe that if you are a leader you must lead and you must be prepared to do more than just abstain. You must be prepared to take a stand - even when it is unpopular, even when you are alone - to change things for the better."

By these comments, Golding is attempting to present as a political strong point, his temporary departure from the JLP in 1995 to form the National Democratic Movement. Critics attack him for walking away from the JLP when the political heat was too high, then later singing his sankey (song) and returning home. But Golding spins this flip-flop as personal strength; he was willing to take a stand. He dared to be a Daniel.

To be sure, Golding has not yet closed the wide favourability gap between himself and Simpson Miller. The recent findings of pollster Bill Johnson indicate a 19 percentage difference between both leaders in opinion polls conducted for The Sunday Gleaner in late October. But the Opposition Leader has been trending upwards in the electorate's favourability rating, gaining four points during a five-month period. Most importantly, Golding must be commended for steering the JLP alongside the PNP, with each party receiving 32 per cent support from 1,008 eligible voters surveyed by Johnson last month. Golding's outstanding performance in the legislature as well as the JLP's, islandwide campaigning activities appear to have paid off, as reflected by a six-point gain in public support by the party.

The electorate is, no doubt, also impressed by the unity and sense of purpose being displayed by the Opposition party, which has taken on the posture of a government in waiting - a welcome relief from the infighting of the past that has contributed to the JLP's long years in the political wilderness. The shoe is now on the other foot; it is the ruling PNP that, ironically, is now displaying signs of disunity that has not been seen in public since the fractious days of the 1970s. The state of unity of both parties has provided another area on which to judge the leadership capabilities of Golding and Simpson Miller.

Political Machinery

Golding has transformed the JLP into a unified political machinery, geared at wrenching the reigns of government from the PNP. Simpson Miller, on the other hand, appears to be grappling to stamp her imprimatur on her organisation.

At least, the party under her leadership has been unable to keep differences internal.

In Parliament, the Golding-led Opposition has the Government off balance and back-pedalling. Prime Minister Simpson Miller has not commanded the legislature as her recent predecessors did. At the Cabinet level, it appears as if the Government is on auto-pilot.

The management strategy being applied by the PM is puzzling. She said at the start of her term of office that she wanted to be able to to make unannounced visits to communities to touch base with the people. But for her to have the freedom to engage in these kinds of activities, Mrs. Simpson Miller needs to appoint a deputy prime minister to attend to the day-to-day matters of state.

Simpson Miller's leadership style is more akin to that of former prime ministers Sir Alexander Bustamante and Michael Manley: paternalistic/maternalistic, messianic and charismatic. Leaders like these are not detained by mundane and routine tasks. They have able deputies à la Sir Donald Sangster, and P.J. Patterson, respectively. Prime Minister Simpson Miller, would be deluding herself by trying to be a hands-on chief executive. She does not fit the mould of a technocratic leader like former Prime Minister Edward Seaga. Neither is she a managerialist leader like her immediate predecessor P.J. Patterson, whose legal training honed an appreciation for details.

With so many ordinary Jamaicans disconnected from the political system, there is a genuine need for political leaders like Simpson Miller to engage the populace in dialogue towards achieving common solutions. But the people demand deliverables - jobs, health, education and other social services. For the PM to provide these, she has to get her team working, with everyone in their right position. She must rise to the occasion and select a deputy prime minister from one of several able ministers: Maxine Henry-Wilson, Dr. Peter Phillips and Dr. Omar Davies.

So far, Golding has played his political cards well. He stands a good chance of winning the game, as long as Simpson Miller remains distracted.