Dear Editor,
I plead insanity for having believed the hype on Sunday last that, despite the bruising leadership challenge to Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Andrew Holness, he would have been willing to be magnanimous in victory.
I guess I was just hoping against hope. Instead, Holness moved swiftly to get rid of those who did not support his leadership, reappointing only Bartlett and Shaw as showpieces to the new shadow cabinet.
What would have been magnanimous and sensible would have been for him to have reappointed everyone from the original shadow cabinet, en blo,c then over a period remove the non-performers, as they have always outnumbered the performers.
Instead, he jumped straight into stark victimisation. Plus, what possible reason can there be for wanting the senators to resign. For nothing has changed over the two years since Holness appointed them, except that some did not support him in his leadership challenge. His calling for their resignation therefore has nothing to do with their performance or usefulness to the country, but is truly pure pettiness.
I therefore applaud Mr Shaw for putting his own political future on the line and standing up with those who supported him who are threatened with victimisation; none more obvious than the two deputy leaders who came out in support of him but whose nomination papers mysteriously disappeared a few days before the election.
And, if Holness really wanted to unify the party, as he claimed, what of the fate of the lady Councillor who was evicted from Samuda's office for supporting Shaw, and the one whose future in politics was threatened by Warmington? It is perfectly clear that,
while democracy prevailed on Sunday, it is really vindictiveness and divisiveness which is the final victor.
Joan E Williams
gratestj@gmail.com
No JLP unity in sight
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I plead insanity for having believed the hype on Sunday last that, despite the bruising leadership challenge to Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Andrew Holness, he would have been willing to be magnanimous in victory.
I guess I was just hoping against hope. Instead, Holness moved swiftly to get rid of those who did not support his leadership, reappointing only Bartlett and Shaw as showpieces to the new shadow cabinet.
What would have been magnanimous and sensible would have been for him to have reappointed everyone from the original shadow cabinet, en blo,c then over a period remove the non-performers, as they have always outnumbered the performers.
Instead, he jumped straight into stark victimisation. Plus, what possible reason can there be for wanting the senators to resign. For nothing has changed over the two years since Holness appointed them, except that some did not support him in his leadership challenge. His calling for their resignation therefore has nothing to do with their performance or usefulness to the country, but is truly pure pettiness.
I therefore applaud Mr Shaw for putting his own political future on the line and standing up with those who supported him who are threatened with victimisation; none more obvious than the two deputy leaders who came out in support of him but whose nomination papers mysteriously disappeared a few days before the election.
And, if Holness really wanted to unify the party, as he claimed, what of the fate of the lady Councillor who was evicted from Samuda's office for supporting Shaw, and the one whose future in politics was threatened by Warmington? It is perfectly clear that,
while democracy prevailed on Sunday, it is really vindictiveness and divisiveness which is the final victor.
Joan E Williams
gratestj@gmail.com
No JLP unity in sight
-->