Dear Editor,
The election is over and all the votes are counted, except for one seat that is going to a magisterial recount. It will be 33-30 or 32-31; either way it was a close finish.
The election proved, at least to me anyway, that Andrew Holness has grown by leaps and bounds and matured well politically, but this will be his sternest test yet.
Holness will have to run a tight ship. He will have to appoint a small, young, knowledgeable, and diverse Cabinet, all while placating those who are an immediate danger to him — never an easy task.
But it gets even worse: if the count remains 32-31 then he will have a Herculean task ahead of him. Excluding the speaker parliament would be split 31-31, and Holness would then have to ensure that he gets a strong party whip.
All is not doom and gloom though; if Andrew plays his cards right he may come up trumps. If he can get through the budget and civil service reform, then green shoots will start to appear.
The People’s National Party (PNP) are not quite over the election, as they still seem to think that recounts can save them, but once the last magisterial challenge is over, the knives will be drawn. With no clear succession plan in place, the old guard refuses to budge while the young Turks are yet to anoint a potential challenger.
All of this bodes well for Holness and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). When the PNP are still at civil war we can expect a snap election. Holness, if he has in fact matured, will remember the JLP in the 90s and how they were at constant war, and coincidentally that the PNP won three elections on the trot. People don’t like it when parties are at war, they are turned off as they feel there is no viable alternative. If, as I expect, the PNP goes through that drama, I expect Andrew to act.
Most of this hinges on Andrew. he has to implement some of his proposals to cement public trust. All of this is hard, but doable. This parliamentary term will seal the fate of Andrew, the pretender or the Prince. Can he hold it together? He must!
Alexander Scott
alexanderwj.scott@gmail.com
The election is over and all the votes are counted, except for one seat that is going to a magisterial recount. It will be 33-30 or 32-31; either way it was a close finish.
The election proved, at least to me anyway, that Andrew Holness has grown by leaps and bounds and matured well politically, but this will be his sternest test yet.
Holness will have to run a tight ship. He will have to appoint a small, young, knowledgeable, and diverse Cabinet, all while placating those who are an immediate danger to him — never an easy task.
But it gets even worse: if the count remains 32-31 then he will have a Herculean task ahead of him. Excluding the speaker parliament would be split 31-31, and Holness would then have to ensure that he gets a strong party whip.
All is not doom and gloom though; if Andrew plays his cards right he may come up trumps. If he can get through the budget and civil service reform, then green shoots will start to appear.
The People’s National Party (PNP) are not quite over the election, as they still seem to think that recounts can save them, but once the last magisterial challenge is over, the knives will be drawn. With no clear succession plan in place, the old guard refuses to budge while the young Turks are yet to anoint a potential challenger.
All of this bodes well for Holness and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). When the PNP are still at civil war we can expect a snap election. Holness, if he has in fact matured, will remember the JLP in the 90s and how they were at constant war, and coincidentally that the PNP won three elections on the trot. People don’t like it when parties are at war, they are turned off as they feel there is no viable alternative. If, as I expect, the PNP goes through that drama, I expect Andrew to act.
Most of this hinges on Andrew. he has to implement some of his proposals to cement public trust. All of this is hard, but doable. This parliamentary term will seal the fate of Andrew, the pretender or the Prince. Can he hold it together? He must!
Alexander Scott
alexanderwj.scott@gmail.com