Mark Wignall | Democracy in crutches

A parliamentary democracy is a sham arrangement where one man one vote is so magnified as if it can turn water into wine. The promises are usually empty and generationally embarrassing.  

Let's take a trip. The very least you probably knew of him just before pneumonia took him away in 2015 was his outsized role as prime minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. A country with a population 6.12 million living in 287 square miles.

Lee Kuan Yew’s illiberal democracy was a special moulding of democracy suited to take away the fact that the lawyer-politician fashioned a one-party state that had no choice but to succeed at major economic reforms, urban development, meritocracy, and strong anti-corruption measures.

To fail would be to lock away himself from using the political system again, fall into infamy and illness in addition to running the risk of giving birth to political strife on the small city state occupied by Japan during the 1940s Pacific Theatre of World War II but destined to a future socio-economic greatness not even dreamt up by the most optimistic economist alive at the time.   

Lee had no examples to copy, so in neutering the supporting structures -  needed to keep a democracy running, such as opposition parties and trades union - he stepped into the role of political divinity, and, at first, begged the people to buy his expansive dream. 

Lee needed a special system to guarantee his party long runs in the unique parliament that would grow from his sheer will, more respect than love and no need to be disturbed by any opposition forces not sold on most of his political objectives. It is mostly myth that Lee visited Jamaica in the 1960s and was politically captivated by what he saw on the Jamaican political landscape.

While the Singaporean prime minister was unafraid to launch out into potentially problematic directions, I cannot see that he would gaze on at Jamaica and want to borrow or grab at any policies or reform existing at the time. Did any exist? What? Gun Court!

It is even more myth that Jamaica could easily have followed and copied the Singapore blueprint. To what extent does a country whose political leadership was mostly bred from the struggles of the deliberately underpaid and the political representation of the labour movement simply jump into the mode where it cedes such power purely to a political party? On top of that, how does such a country disrobe itself from the rough coir of its irascible personality and choose to wear the most tender silk available? In both instances, it simply cannot.

P. J. Patterson occupied political power from 1992 to 2006. Of all the political leaders we had, just by the 14 years he spent occupying the seat of power, it has never been determined if he was the brave sort, or it would make for a catching headline that he wanted to be radically different from those who came before him. The way I saw it, P. J. Patterson preferred soft shoes and ultra-soft carpets, preferring instead not to generate political waves. 

Dr Andrew Holness seems better suited to continue from where he began in 2016. To say that does not in any way imply that at the next elections there will be a sufficiency of respect and love for him to transform into votes and another term following on from September 2020. 

Without any special assessment of Holness for even a modicum of the Kwan Yew factor, there are some political pundits who believe that the PM is braver than Mark Golding in launching out into  new political territory, especially in housing infrastructure and house-ownership reform. It comes from a mixture of arrogance, especially after Melissa, and the possibility that the PM may believe that the people’s chess moves are exposing their king while his advances need little improvement. 

At this stage, it is somewhat late to continue the wait for either of them to develop the Kwan Yew factor. That train has long left the station. 

TRUMP SPREADING CHAOS

The late great Ray Charles had a hit song called Its Crying Time Again. It was sad and supermelodious. Now ,it would be quite fitting for Donald Trump to compose a song called ‘It’s Doofus Time Again.’

He has sued his own government; to be specific, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), his grievance being that his tax returns were released.  

An investigation revealed that a contract worker did release Trump’s tax returns, and the contract worker was charged accordingly. But, of course, that was not enough for Trump. He sued for US$10 billion. Suddenly, the case was settled for US$1.776 billion on May 18.  

The settlement calls for the establishment of a fund of US$1.7 billion. Individuals who support Trump or are aligned with him who feel aggrieved by the US government can file a claim and get compensation from the fund. A classic slush fund at taxpayer expense.    

My American lawyer friend wrote: “Think about that. If you are an American, your taxpayer money is going to enrich Trump’s friends. But here is what is intentionally ignored in this settlement. The statute of limitations had run for Trump to bring the case. He was too late in filing.

“But since it is his Department of Justice (DOJ), the statute of limitations be damned!  The Judge in the case had scheduled a hearing to discuss the case.  Legal experts were of the mind the Judge was going to dismiss the case, so the settlement was quickly cooked up.  

“Second, what is the measure of Trump’s damages? To get relief you must prove damages.  What damages are there? He was elected President twice; he is richer than ever. He has no damages. But this is an America that has turned upside down to find Alice in Wonderland.”

Mark Wignall is a political and public affairs analyst. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and mawigsr@gmail.com.