Ian Boyne, Contributor
HIS PARTY has again vindicated him. His resoluteness, defiance and sheer guts in the face of intimidatory tactics by party hooligans and the sharp opposition from party central and the Bruce Golding campaign have paid off handsomely.
Whatever else Pearnel Charles lacks, it is not the courage of his convictions and the stamina to hold his ground despite earth tremors all around him.
Pearnel Charles insisted that the delegates' list for the election of party leader was flawed, that constitutional procedures had been breached and that indoor and outdoor agents had been improperly put on the list. A deal was struck with the party secretariat in which Charles extracted concessions on all these critical points.
People in the Golding camp realise that this is an enormous moral victory for Charles and that it could cast long shadows on the democratic credentials of Bruce Golding, who has talked more about giving real democratic control to the people than any other politician since Michael Manley.
In trying to deflect from Charles' major victory and to help save face for the party, General Secretary Karl Samuda himself made a major tactical blunder by telling 'Nationwide' on Wednesday: "This deal has strengthened democracy in a more tangible way." Ouch! So Charles ends up being the hero standing against the crowd, which was shouting, "run wid it". That crowd included constitutional reform guru Bruce Golding. No wonder on Thursday morning Golding was not responding to his friends on the Breakfast Club to speak on air, and why Tony Abrahams and Beverley Manley kept asking Pearnel Charles to what extent Golding was in on the out-of-court talks. It was not surprising to learn later Thursday that Golding and his camp were not pleased with the deal.
NOWHERE TO RUN
While I have absolutely no reason to believe that Golding would seek to rig the delegates' list to his advantage he will surely trounce Charles on any list imaginable his stout public defense of the list and the practice of including unregistered indoor and outdoor agents which has now been rejected by the party splashes egg on his face. Chris Tufton might have been naive enough to urge JLP faithful to vote for the Head in the 2002 campaign, but he seems to have learnt the politics quickly. He was at pains almost literally on the Breakfast Club on Thursday morning to express his concern that the perception be not made that the Golding-approved list was undemocratically constructed. In other words, he wanted the proper spin to be put on it.
But there is no way around this one: it is an unequivocal victory for Pearnel Charles. Though some pro-Golding persons will see this as a virtual "stick up" by Charles, in that the party could not afford months of drawn-out battles in the court and, therefore, had no viable option but to give in to Charles, the fact is that this proverbial one man against the world has beaten the world.
THE MEDIA
The media had abandoned its normal duty of investigation in the Golding-Charles controversy but instead were more concerned about what this was doing to the image of the party rather than being concerned about truth and justice.
I asked in a column, "What if Pearnel is Right?" The usual herd mentality in the Jamaican media kicked in and the largely pro-Golding media were wringing their hands over this "disgraceful public brawl" and "washing of dirty linen in public". What would this do to our democracy, commentators and columnists were worrying, as though the essence of Charles' struggle was not about what Samuda has now hailed as "the strengthening of democracy in a more tangible way."
Golding is receiving some early tests to his leadership mettle. He failed to broker a deal with Charles, forcing Charles to go to court to pull this deal out of the party. Now we will see whether his style is really substantially different from strongman Edward Seaga, or whether he is very much Seaga's political son. An arrogant and belligerent posture in the light of this deal with Charles should make those who have not sold their minds to his camp sit up and think. The hotheads in the party and the media are shouting, "blood for blood, fire for fire", but Jamaica waits to see whether there is really a fresh wind in the JLP or whether it's business as usual with new faces.
NO ANGEL
No one needs to assume that Pearnel Charles is pure as the driven snow. Perhaps if he had his deal to become Opposition leader we would not have heard one sniff about flawed voters list. Perhaps his supposedly deep concern for democracy is just a chimera, a last-straw grasp of a political scoundrel. I would not put my head on the block for him or any politician. But that is irrelevant. There are times when people's expedient and selfish interests coincide with the truth.
Often the media get to ferret out truth when there is a fight among the thieves. No matter, we must go after the public interest.
As I had written in, "What if Pearnel is right?": "If there is genuinely an issue of justice or integrity, if the constitutional requirements of the party are not being followed and slackness has been allowed over the years and has now been routinised, the whistleblower deserves commendation; even if his whistleblowing come after his personal ambitions had been frustrated."
Labourites will hate Charles even more for his out-of-court victory which is a further embarrassment to the party, which has implicitly admitted to a flawed list. Those Labourites are concerned about political power, not about truth or democracy.
They are concerned about party image. We in the media should care less about that. For us it is an objectively better system to have everyone registered rather than having people bring in friends as party workers who can end up on delegates list, or having indoor and outdoor agents who don't have to be registered.
There should be one process for everyone, and this is a position which should be supported by every journalist who is sworn to defend the public interest and the "strengthening of democracy", as Karl Samuda puts it.
AN UNLIKELY CANDIDATE
And speaking of strengthening democracy brings me to the official soft launch last week of Finance and Planning Minister Omar Davies for the leadership of his People's National Party (PNP).
Omar Davies is a most unlikely candidate for the leadership of the PNP. He has been consistently in the national polls one of the most unpopular PNP ministers and one of the most harshly criticised and vilified ministers on the street. He is the butt of jokes at cocktail parties and on the verandah circuit. Some see him as the PNP version of Edward Seaga arrogant, opinionated and stubborn.
Yet, no one has ever accused him of being a fool. Why would a man so enormously bright and no political dunce believe that he could stand a chance when so many seem to agree that he just does not have the personality traits to be a popular, well-liked leader?
When so many Jamaicans are bawling for hard times, why would a man who has presided over the country's finances for the last 12 years believe people would re-elect a four-term party with him, for goodness sake, at the helm? Is Omar so taken up with himself that he is deluded? Another case of the Pearnel Charles syndrome? Perhaps not.
For starters and most significantly Omar Davies as Finance Minister will be not wanting for money to finance his campaign. There are well-heeled business people who will want to be in his corner.
Investment Banker Peter Bunting chaired the function and is leading the private sector charge. Having the moneyed classes with you is extremely important and Omar has that. Besides, if it were five or so years ago the Omar's bid would make absolutely no sense, but today it can't be discounted.
Business people don't find him as obnoxious as they used to and those who know him know that contrary to his public image, he is extremely charming, with an very-ready, disarming grin and infectious sense of humour. Many people who get to know Omar Davies really do get to like him. So the arrogance perception is not as potent in key constituencies.
BRILLIANT
Besides, contrary to JLP propaganda and misinformed and shallow economic commentary, Omar Davies has presided over significant macroeconomic achievements. Those who are exposed to the literature of the World Bank, IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank know of the respect which he has internationally.
Contrary to local media perception, the World Bank and the IMF have praised Davies' management of the financial sector crisis, showing that Jamaica has made one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the world.
I know of no member of the PNP who is a sharper, more incisive debater than Omar Davies. I don't give encomiums easily, but Omar Davies is one of the brightest and the most intellectually gifted politicians that the country has ever had.
I always relish his encounters with the talk-show hosts and interviewers who have a lot of big talk behind his back and who are scathing in their criticisms, but who are reduced to incoherence when they interview him. He has never lost an outing with any interviewer in Jamaica. And that, of course, reinforces the image that he is arrogant. Because he has such a sharp mind and is so intellectually competent, he is very impatient with sloppy analysis and the lack of research, which, unfortunately, characterise too much of the Jamaican media. He will have to learn to temper his impatience and disguise his contempt for shallowness a little more if he is to be a successful politician.
TRACK RECORD
At a time when many influential people are thinking, "it's the economy, stupid", the business class might think Davies is the man. He has the track record and is definitely, unquestionably, prime minister material. But he will have to work hard on his emotional intelligence skills. He will have to learn to show empathy; to give a sense that he understands the plight of those left behind by his economic policies. He will have to know when to go after the emotions rather than the logic. This is his major challenge. He needs to learn a lot from Portia Simpson Miller, but I suspect Portia might not be too inclined to have him as a student at this time.
Omar's challenge for the leadership will mean that Peter Phillips, saddled with the albatross security ministry, and faced with an opponent with prodigious cognitive skills, enormous credibility as a person of unimpeachable integrity and decency, will have to do some serious strategising.
Portia has her niche: She is the voice of the poor and oppressed, the wailing mothers, the hopeful but frustrated youth, the overburdened fathers the voiceless; Michael Manley's heir.
My suggestion to Peter is that he goes after the values voters, the moral majority who feel that Jamaica is becoming too ungodly and perverted and who feel that only a return to moral values will save us. He must court the religious people and adopt moral causes to win the hearts of the people.
He has already started by talking about the high illegitimacy, irresponsible fatherhood and our inability to solve simple disputes. He must expand that. So, Portia for the poor, Omar for the economy-first people and Peter for the church people and the moral majority. May the best person win! Meanwhile, the one-horse JLP race can begin soon.
Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist. You can send your emails to anboyne1@yahoo.com or infocus@gleanerjm.com
