Ian Boyne, Contributor
ON TUESDAY, the Jamaican Parliament, often the epitome of incivility, crudeness and political bigotry, was transformed into a forum of which the country should be justly proud. The two sides of the House had gathered together to honour a man who has devoted 40 years of his life in unstinting and distinguished service to his country.
The Prime Minister engaged in no hypocrisy with a carefully-worded speech read by Portia Simpson Miller. He could put it no better when he said: "No one on this side of the House has ever been able to lightly dismiss him, his views or his political manoeuvring. We have always had to take him seriously. Anyone who dares to underestimate his skills as a consummate tactician is bound eventually to pay the ultimate price". Well put, PJ! And Eddie Seaga had better relish the words of praise which came from his political opponents in the House, for in the upcoming election campaign, be it known, the charity season will be closed. Eddie Seaga himself will be the target of the PNP campaign for Eddie Seaga is the JLP.
MEMORIES
But, that will be his ultimate tribute from the PNP. From the 1960s Eddie Seaga has been a man we either love or hate; a man we can't be neutral about; a man who refuses to stay out of our attention. The name Seaga first obtrusively planted itself in my consciousness when I was a little boy of about eight. I remember it vividly as if it were yesterday. My father was an ardent PNP supporter and activist and had his tailoring establishment in Mr. Seaga's constituency on Charles Street. Right beside him was the record shop of one of Mr. Seaga's strongest supporters, Prince Buster. I remember being told that Buster was from this dreaded species called Labourites.
One morning, my father went to work and I to my primary school at Congregational on North Street to see that the Labourites had written on his business place, 'Seaga win'. Absolute sacrilege! My father was a high priest of the PNP. The name Seaga had not made a favourable impression on my young mind. From then I was told what a fearsome man this Seaga was, so my family had to keep quite and dare not wipe off the 'Seaga win'. In the 1970s, when I came into political consciousness and was fired up by the vision of Michael Manley, I resuscitated my disaffection for Eddie Seaga. As a member of the vaunted "progressive forces", I dismissed him as a "reactionary", a mere "puppet of United States imperialism". Seaga's cosying up to U.S. foreign policy, his virulent opposition to socialism and his inability to identify with the Non-Aligned Movement(which sometimes seemed a misnomer) did not endear him to me politically.
I still believe Eddie Seaga's role in the 1970s leaves much to be desired. I hope he has some regrets, with the benefit of hindsight and age, about some of the things he said and did in the 1970s. It is still a fact that Michael Manley possessed an intellectual vision and breadth that surpassed Eddie Seaga's; that Seaga did not grasp the ways in which U.S. dominance in the world hindered autonomous development in the Third World and contributed to continued underdevelopment. Manley's profound understanding of global economic and political development enabled him to make connections which Eddie Seaga just did not make.
The progressive forces and the Left, however, made a fundamental mistake about Seaga. The fact that he was, as some characterised him then, a "choir boy for the U.S.", did not mean that he had any less of an interest in the poor and oppressed or that he was an élitist. The Left was wrong about Seaga. He was not like Pinochet, Somoza or Marcos. He was neither corrupt nor contemptuous of the masses. He was and is someone deeply interested in the poor. His method for uplifting the poor might have differed from us progressives, but not his commitment. His "haves and have-nots" speech was not a blip in his political career; it was not political opportunism. It represents his life's mission. Edward Seaga is a genuine Jamaican nationalist and he genuinely believed that Manley wanted to import something alien to the Jamaican people, who he had grown to love and cherish. The Left did not have the tolerance or generosity of spirit to understand this, and Seaga's hostile, confrontational personality did not help.
CONSISTENT SPEECH
On Tuesday, Eddie Seaga said some very important things in Parliament. In a touching speech, almost like a man coming to the end of his career and reflecting on a lifetime of pursuits, he returned in spirit to that early mid-60s haves and have-nots speech. "The majority of people who have the power and the opportunity and the wealth to do things know very little about this great majority living downtown and in rural Jamaica," he said. It was Seaga's way of showing 40 years after that, in effect, "I have kept the faith I still have the same mission". He then, statesmanlike, talked of the tragedy of "two steps forward, two steps backward", because Governments failed to follow up on good programmes started by predecessors. The entire speech should be published for posterity.
Edward Seaga has been an enigma, a misunderstood and maligned man. I was one of those who misunderstood him in the 1970s. When I got to know him better in the 90s, I found a man who, contrary to popular mythology, was warm without being effusive, humorous, and able to take criticism. I found that if he respected you intellectually you could get away with almost any criticism of him; that he would relish a lively debate. He has been very flattering of me privately, though as someone who reads his newspapers from cover to cover, he knows we don't see eye-to-eye on many issues and have privately argued with him in defence of Omar Davies' macroeconomic policies. It has never prevented him from facilitating me or speaking kindly of me to aides.
A MAN OF SINCERITY
Edward Seaga has a Messianic Complex. He believes passionately in his own ideas. He is convinced he is right. He is not a classic politician. He is not driven primarily by the need for power, personal aggrandisement or personal gain. People who say this don't understand him. He is not a man hungering after popularity or a man who plays to the gallery. He operates on the basis of his own principles. He will take tough decisions that he knows might hurt him, if he is convinced it is in the interest of the country. Edward Seaga is a leader. I once told him that he is either one of the most stubborn or arrogant men alive, or one of the most resilient and courageous leaders ever. He released one of his faint smiles without commenting.
When one looks objectively at the institutions he has created and the programmes he has initiated, it puts the lie to the oft-repeated view that politicians have done nothing for the Jamaican people since Independence. The JLP has done a service, not just to itself, but to the political process by publishing the list of things achieved by Mr. Seaga. These are things that PNP politicians should feel proud of and should throw back at the cynics who say politicians have only corruptly enriched themselves. That's not the truth, Mr. Talk Show Host; it is a palpable lie.
That Mr. Seaga has survived the many attempts by his party dissidents to oust him, is a tribute to his resilience, fortitude and tenacity of purpose. The media have been patently unfair to him. I remember not so long ago when almost every talk show host and every columnist was reciting his political eulogy. People in the JLP were coming to me with the stories of Seaga's imminent demise. As I wrote at the time, "The reports of his political death are greatly exaggerated." I was the only journalist not aligned to the JLP who held out any chance for him. I predicted Seaga would bounce back, that he was still the best asset of that party. I have lived to see Edward Seaga now the darling of the media. Remember when there were screaming headlines demanding that he go, saying he was a "spent force", a "stale bulla" and totally incapable of rehabilitation? Remember the Mark Wignall and Cliff Hughes pieces?
"You pick him up, you lick him down; him bounce right back, what a hard man fi dead!" Prince Buster sang of Bustamante, but it applies to Edward Seaga more forcefully. A great deal of the blame for the fractiousness and divisiveness of the JLP lie on the shoulders of the leadership corps. If the leaders under Seaga spent some time educating themselves on leadership and the different personality types, they would know how to deal with Seaga's arrogance and abrasiveness. Seaga is a Type-A personality: he is highly-driven, focused and goal-oriented. He only sees his own vision. He could not have accomplished as much as he has without a firm belief in his own ideas. Now there is a thin line between that fixity of purpose and arrogance. A leader like Seaga needs to have people under him who are not motivated by ego, who can take the put-downs and who know how to give him the assurance, support and loyalty that his personality type needs.
But, instead of that, they have tried to pull the rug from under him, undermine him, and betray him to the press in their own desire for power. Mr Seaga has good reason for not trusting some of them and can perhaps be excused for giving inordinate influence to people like Babsy Grange and Ken Baugh who have proven their loyalty. You don't destroy or sideline a leader with Mr. Seaga's leadership assets. You work with him compassionately and wisely. With skill, tact, emotional control and self-mastery, the leaders under Mr. Seaga could have worked more harmoniously with him.
PERSONALITY FLAWS
Make no mistake about it. Eddie Seaga has enormous personal weaknesses. His irascibility, tendency to abuse public officials and to threaten people whom he disapproves of is unbecoming of a person of his stature. When P.J. Patterson said recently that "Nobody has to be afraid of P.J. Patterson", those who have ears to hear know that those words could well have been thrown at Edward Seaga, for Seaga drives fear in people. Besides, Seaga has not done enough to rein in the criminals of Tivoli Gardens. This is one of the greatest failures of his 40 years. Even JLP people who are offended by this statement know there are some very dangerous criminals and terrorists in Tivoli Gardens and Mr. Seaga, in my view, has not done enough to help the police to put them away. Instead, he has attacked the security forces unjustifiably and crudely, and has used language unbecoming of a national leader in castigating the lawful forces of this country. There are times when he has put constituency interests above national interests and that is unforgivable.
That has detracted from but cannot erase his enormous, incalculable contribution to the Jamaican people. We all have feet of clay. But Edward Phillip George Seaga has fought a good fight. Congratulations, Mr. Seaga.
