“What hurts is to see some of those who were leaving the party when I was entering seeking to challenge me now,” he said in reference to the persons who left the party with Bruce Golding to form the National Democratic Movement (NDM) in the 1990s.
“This argument about nothing is going on is absolute rubbish,” he said. “They don’t participate … . In fact, it is amazing, and you can check your records to see the press releases that went out about the launch of the islandwide reconnection tour that we had planned.”
Mr Holness continues
“Mr Seaga gave Christopher Tufton, who was ahead of me at the university, a portfolio, and gave me to shadow that portfolio, and Chris Tufton left the party and gave back the portfolio to Mr Seaga,” he said
“I am an institution man who sought change from within. I have never been one to undermine or bring the party into disrepute,” said Holness.
“I have never done anything to undermine any leader,” he added. “Whoever was leader of the party, I gave 100 per cent support … principle … which is why when I was asked as House leader to remove Mr Golding as prime minister by directing the members of parliament to go to the governor general, I refused to do it because it would have been the greatest ignominy, because I am a party man and I believe in principle.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130922/lead/lead1.html
Listening to the above this is what I am hearing.
Andrew Holness is not happy about this leadership challenge at all, in fact he is totally pissed about it, because he has come to the realization that he is a very weak leader and he stands a very good chance of losing the race against Audley Shaw. This is not about the JLP anymore despite what you are hearing from Andrew, its very personal and here is why.
Holness was ushered in because the JLP thought he had the best chance of winning the last election, but his inexperience and naivety was on show when he decided that he would come with his new and different politics one about being honest and true to the Jamaican people, the rest is history because he was soundly rejected.
As party leader he was once again at the helm when the JLP was trounced in the local government elections and it was then that many thought they were beginning to see another Edward Seaga in the making.
Andrew Holness is fighting for his political life and that is a very personal fight. his fight is not to keep the JLP together , he simply cannot afford to face the embarrassment of yet another election loss, which would cement his place in history in the JLP of history he would not want to be proud of.
So let’s examine what is at stake here .
- Andrew Holness would have been one of the shortest serving Jamaican Prime Minister ever.
- Andrew Holness would have been the shortest serving PM affiliated with the JLP in it’s 70 yr history
- Andrew Holness would have been the first JLP affiliated Prime Minister to have lost two elections so quickly.
- Andrew Holness would have been the first JLP leader to be rejected by JLP delegates in a leadership race.
- Andrew Holness would have been the first JLP leader to have lost this position at a Annual Conference. ( I am open to clarification here).
- Andrew Holness would have been the first man from either political party to have gone from Prime Minister to Leader of the opposition/party leader to opposition leader and not party leader
- Andrew Holness in 2016 would be the first person to go from Prime Minister to Leader of the Opposition/party leader to simply MP by way of elections losses.
This is not the time of history that Andrew Holness wants to be associated with his name and so this race with Audley Shaw is not a challenge that he welcomes at all, it is the fight of his political life it’s very personal.
The notion that big money is trying to influence the outcome of the leadership race and Andrew Holness is not for sale is BS ans those going down this road had better take a new route . By making this pronouncement , they appear to be saying that half of the JLP is fact for sale and this could have very serious consequences for the JLP in another 2 years if they continue with asinine statements such as these.
The fact is people don’t bet big on losers that is a fact and right now Holness has developed a good resume for loses and will lose once again unless he changes course.
The JLP relics know how to select losers and so if I have a Derrick Smith, Pernel Charles and other relics of the party backing me, then chances are I have a very good chance of losing.
Andrew be careful those who seem to be backing you and making nasty statements about the other guy, may very be showing you up not to be new and different at all and there goal may be to ensure that you lose.
Is this the classic case of misdirection or reverse psychology
Never believe everything you hear or even everything you see.
Have gone ever been into organizations and the first persons to meet and greet you and give you the great smiles and then proceed to give you the “low down” on the runnnings and the so called bad guys are the very one’s who never wanted you to be there are the one’s most likely to sabotage you ?
🙂
Filed under: Politics |
Warren's Blog 
Jay, concerning what you have said above re Holness, I told you so many times in this blog.
You said Holnss lost the 2011 Elections because he was “honest”. I don’t agree with that – the JLP lost the election because the ruse of switching to Holness after the Golding disgrace was seen for what is was…..a ruse.
He is now a convert Mich. Give him some credit.
Andrew is the second shortest serving PM. Donald Sangster was the first.
Andrew would have nobody to blame but himself if he loses. He has had his opportunity and as far as I am concerned, has blown it and is still blowing it.
But for this challenge the party would still be in a slumber. The leader sets the tone in a organization and must therefore be able to inspire. You do not have to make a lot of noise to get the work done – ask PJ, but you must be able to lead to get it done.
Because you can manage something does not mean you are able to lead.
Politics is not boring – it is dynamic; it neither can the changes needed be done overnight.
Hope Andrew will use this experience as a lesson cause he is not politically savvy.
Holness is not assertive, in addition he is not articulating his solutions for Jamaica. Furthermore, the pnp has been able to fail because Holness is doing a very bad job at highlighting the pnp’s failure
JLP SHOULD SETTLE FEUD
THE EDITOR, SIR:
Since political parties are national institutions and not private clubs, we expect the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to have a greater appreciation for democracy. But it is well known that internecine conflicts are a major part of the party’s history. The present conflict stems from the perception that Mr Andrew Holness is a weak leader who is unable to mobilise a disenchanted populace; therefore, he should be challenged by someone like Audley Shaw, who has the ability to entertain both the business elites and the masses. Some even claim that a vociferous leader is needed to confront the current administration; hence, the mild-mannered Holness is not the right man for the job.
Many may not want to admit this troubling fact, but Jamaicans are not ready to accept a leader with Holness’ disposition because we have grown to accept vulgarity as a common feature of leadership. Politicians that refuse to appeal to the lowest denominator or those who fail to promote ‘badness’ are often castigated. So it can be argued that contempt for Holness isdue to his conciliatory nature.If Mr Holness is really transformational, then he should seek to distance himself from the comments of his supporters who espouse undemocratic ideals; if he does not, then he will give weight to the argument that he is weak and indecisive. Furthermore, Holness should articulate his plans for his party and the country more effectively. It would also be welcomed if he outlined a political philosophy for the Labour Party; it is not good enough to say that Labour supports anything that works.
The inability of the Jamaica Labour Party to coalesce around a set of core values has been one of its major shortfalls; the party’s ideals seems to be those of the leader. Holness must also resist the temptation to align the Labour Party with populist philosophies. The opposition leader has the potential to become Jamaica’s Margaret Thatcher. Based on his speeches, we know he has conservative views. Unfortunately, the young politician’s perceived inability to control the dissidents in his party may indicate to the electorate that he was never transformational, but rather a fraud that is unable to grasp the nettle. Audley, on the other hand, should prove to the Jamaican people that his desire to challenge the incumbent leader goes beyond hype. Being able to stir up the masses is a good trait for a leader, but, at this time, having what some analysts call ‘fire in the belly’ is not enough.
Shaw should outline feasible long-term proposals for the country if he wants to be taken seriously. Confronting his many critics and reminding citizens about some of his achievements during his stint as the minister of finance could establish him as a credible candidate, but if he yields to temptation by engaging in mudslinging like the members in Mr Transformational’s camp, then we will know that he is just a ‘bag of noise’. The People’s National Party (PNP) cannot afford to be too happy about the absence of a suitable opposition, because its failings are so loud that they speak for themselves.
LIPTON MATTHEWS
lo_matthews@yahoo.com