Dear Editor,
A popular term used in football matches when a wily forward sends the opposing defender the wrong way is "being sold a dummy", and that is exactly what the People's National Party (PNP) has done to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). And, man, they have really bought it!
I knew from day one that the election would not have been held this year. The PNP has too many windows of opportunity between now and December 2016 to call the election now.
The first window of opportunity opened to it is the reduction of the "primary surplus target", which will release more funds to be allocated to social programmes.
The party was successful in getting the JLP to postpone its annual conference for the first time at last, which is not good for the image-building of the party. Word on the ground is that the party and its candidates have used up more than a third of its election cash vault in mobilising and organising the constituencies.
And, with Christmas in the air, the JLP candidates will have to be very visible in the constituencies giving treats and other electorate contacts further diminishing their cash vault for an election that will not be held before the budget is presented.
The issue of bitter medicine being articulated by the JLP will be tossed through the window as the PNP, with gains from an improving economy, will present a people's and an election budget within the confines of a relaxing of harsh International Monetary Fund guidelines.
The JLP, with its propensity to be fractious — now being held together by a masking tape (pun intended) — may implode at any time, and that is another window of opportunity available to the PNP.
It is an open secret that the PNP is targeting the seats of Andrew Holness, Audley Shaw, Everald Warmington, James Robertson, Pearnel Charles, and Rudyard Spencer; postponing the election will give them a better, bigger bag of opportunity to unseat them.
It must be noted that during the 2011 Christmas, the JLP and its candidates did not make the necessary contacts with the people, and that was one of the reasons the people did not turn out at the polls, as they felt that "money never run".
With the way in which the PNP has been selectively naming the sites for its meetings, it was not a prelude to any election annoucement, and the JLP should have picked that up.
Fernandez "Bingy" Smith
fgeesmith@yahoo.com
JLP was 'sold a dummy'
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A popular term used in football matches when a wily forward sends the opposing defender the wrong way is "being sold a dummy", and that is exactly what the People's National Party (PNP) has done to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). And, man, they have really bought it!
I knew from day one that the election would not have been held this year. The PNP has too many windows of opportunity between now and December 2016 to call the election now.
The first window of opportunity opened to it is the reduction of the "primary surplus target", which will release more funds to be allocated to social programmes.
The party was successful in getting the JLP to postpone its annual conference for the first time at last, which is not good for the image-building of the party. Word on the ground is that the party and its candidates have used up more than a third of its election cash vault in mobilising and organising the constituencies.
And, with Christmas in the air, the JLP candidates will have to be very visible in the constituencies giving treats and other electorate contacts further diminishing their cash vault for an election that will not be held before the budget is presented.
The issue of bitter medicine being articulated by the JLP will be tossed through the window as the PNP, with gains from an improving economy, will present a people's and an election budget within the confines of a relaxing of harsh International Monetary Fund guidelines.
The JLP, with its propensity to be fractious — now being held together by a masking tape (pun intended) — may implode at any time, and that is another window of opportunity available to the PNP.
It is an open secret that the PNP is targeting the seats of Andrew Holness, Audley Shaw, Everald Warmington, James Robertson, Pearnel Charles, and Rudyard Spencer; postponing the election will give them a better, bigger bag of opportunity to unseat them.
It must be noted that during the 2011 Christmas, the JLP and its candidates did not make the necessary contacts with the people, and that was one of the reasons the people did not turn out at the polls, as they felt that "money never run".
With the way in which the PNP has been selectively naming the sites for its meetings, it was not a prelude to any election annoucement, and the JLP should have picked that up.
Fernandez "Bingy" Smith
fgeesmith@yahoo.com
JLP was 'sold a dummy'
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