Hartley Neita After having won their seats in Parliament, Donald Sangster, Hugh Shearer and P.J. Patterson were subsequently defeated, only to 'wheel an' come again' and become Prime Ministers of Jamaica. It seems as if a qualification to be Jamaica's Prime Minister is to lose your seat at the beginning of your career.
And so, Bruce Golding has joined the club.
He has, however raised questions which need to be addressed by the legal authorities and protocol regime. He has decided not to take the award of Order of the Nation and is, therefore, only 'The Honourable Bruce Golding' and not 'The Most Honourable'. My impression is that simultaneously with the swearing-in of her husband as Prime Minister, Mrs. Golding is automatically a recipient of the Order of the Nation and is, therefore, 'The Most Honourable'. And if I am wrong, then she is just 'Mrs. Golding'.
I am not sure that Prime Minister Golding will be able to resist the persuasions of his many advisers to accept the order. One of the problems with our national honours and awards system is that it does not take cognizance of spouses. In the British system, the spouse of a knight is titled lady. Our OJs, which was made equivalent to the British Knighthoods provided for no title for wives. So, as long as Prime Minister Golding keeps his OJ and, therefore, 'Honourable' title, his wife remains as she has been since their marriage.
Less endowed?
What will happen when as time passes he faces the inevitability of mortality and there is a eulogy recounting his successes. In comparison, his ledger would seem less endowed than those who went before him. What happens when his political associates complain that he is less in status than his predecessors who were 'Sirs', 'Right Honourables' and 'Most Honourables'. And that the widows of Michael Manley and Hugh Shearer, and the wife of his predecessor Edward Seaga, are also 'Most Honourables'. For, never forget, politics is as much about appearance as it is reality.
During the campaign, Bruce Golding and his team made many promises. Three by Golding himself were that Prime Ministers should only serve two terms, that there should be a fixed date for general elections, and that he would re-examine the pensions and allowances now provided for Prime Ministers and their spouses. I have not yet seen the JLP's manifesto so I do not know if these promises were addressed in this document. Nevertheless, he made no mention of them in his acceptance speech last Tuesday, and I hope he will revisit these promises.
Like drama
I do not agree with the first proposal. We could end up with 10 previous Prime Ministers and their wives, creating protocol and other problems. I also like the drama of the Prime Minister being the person who decides when elections should take place, plus other reasons too numerous to mention in this space.
But I certainly agree that Prime Ministers' spouses should not be entitled to pensions and allowances to pay a secretary, gardener, driver, etc., from the date of the passing of the spouse. They should not receive these until they reach the retirement age. Why should a young working professional be provided with these entitlements? Each, I think, should be examined separately, and not be an automatic entitlement What is more, if Golding's' proposal for two-term Prime Ministers comes into effect, we could find 10 such spouses enjoying these pensions simultaneously.
Finally, will the Protocol Office explain why Lorna Golding was not seated beside her husband at the ceremony? And why did not someone tell the Governor-General and Bruce Golding that Glynne Manley was unavoidably absent and not allow these gentlemen to be greeting someone not present?
