Garwin Davis, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Opposition Leader Bruce Golding (centre) leads members and supporters of the Jamaica Labour Party along Duke Street in Kingston for the ceremonial opening of Parliament at Gordon House on March 29. Will he successfully lead his party into power after the next general election? - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Six years ago, following an embarrassing showing in the North East St. Ann by-election and which saw him stepping down shortly after as leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), Bruce Golding's political career appeared over.

I remember speaking to him near a gas station in Exchange, St. Ann, the day after Barbara Clarke's (NDM candidate) dismal showing in the by-election where she barely got a little over 500 votes. Clearly stunned and appearing badly shaken, Golding was at a loss for words.

"I want to congratulate the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Shahinie Robinson for a well-deserved victory," Golding said, his trembling voice betraying the confidence he was trying to portray. "I really thought we would have done better as Barbara Clarke, we felt, ran a very good campaign."

Pressed on what was his next move, Golding added: "As the leader of the NDM, I now have to reassess my own performance. I have to honestly look at whether I am the person to take this movement forward. I honestly will have to do some serious thinking." A few days later, Golding resigned as leader of the NDM and to all intents and purposes, appeared headed for political oblivion.

It also didn't help that then JLP leader Edward Seaga, basking in the glow of the North East St. Ann victory, was telling anybody with ears to hear that there was no room in the JLP for Golding "not now, nor at anytime in the foreseeable future."

You see, what was unbeknown to a lot of people at the time, was that Golding and the NDM had spurned the opportunity for a merger of some sort with the JLP to gang up on PNP candidate Carol Jackson. Golding had placed a lot of confidence in Clarke and felt she was good enough to win on the NDM ticket. It was not the first time he would have gambled (six years earlier he had bolted from the JLP to form the NDM) but it appeared then that he had finally run out of aces.

King without a country

So there it was. After decades in active politics, Bruce Golding, former JLP stalwart, former leader of the NDM, and the man whom many felt had the makings of a future Prime Minister, was, in 2001, a king without a country - a man without a home.

But as we have often seen in life, fate has a funny way of intervening, especially when least expected. In 2002, having spent over a year in the political wilderness, and having to endure talk of him being the new Mr. Irrelevant, Golding was invited to be the guest speaker at a function put on by Generation 2000 (G2K), the self-styled intellectual youth arm of the JLP. What had tongues wagging, however, was that, for the first time in over four years, Golding would be sharing the same stage with Seaga, his former boss and, some would say, mentor. The fact that it was an election year only made the event more tantalising.

It reportedly took some behind-the-scenes wrangling and dangling by the G2K to convince both men it was okay to be on the same platform together. But more importantly, even for a fleeting moment, it also gave to those who had been privately clamouring for a return by Golding to the JLP hope that the pathway was being cleared for the return of the prodigal son.

And Golding did not disappoint. With the seminar being on corruption and knowing fully well that his every word, his every movement, including body language, were being scrutinised, he gave, arguably, one of the best speeches of his political life. He even showered a few praises on Mr. Seaga, thus showing he hadn't lost his mastery of tactfulness. "I don't hesitate to say that under Mr. Seaga's government, many of the things that are taking place today would not have been possible," Mr. Golding said in reference to charges of public corruption. "I speak with some experience when I tell you that he was a constant source of irritation to some ministers."

And Audley Shaw, the man whom many pundits were touting as the future JLP leader in the post-Seaga era, was paid requisite respect. "I think the Opposition, and Mr. Audley Shaw, in particular, deserve to be commended for bringing to public attention, major instances of corruption in this Government."

The speech was earnest, it was moving, and humorous at times. The head shaking and finger wagging which had characterised many of his speeches were mostly gone.

He was self-deprecating and dignified all at once. He was, well, statesmanlike, maybe even prime ministerial. The reaction was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. Even some of Golding's harshest critics were uncharacteristically speechless - no doubt shocked at how well he was received and also at howwell he had seized the moment. Suddenly, the possibility of having Golding on the JLP ticket seemed real, and most importantly, appeared to have given the party's campaign the much-needed jolt it had desperately been looking for.

Following the function, which I covered for The Gleaner, I wrote: "So what is Golding's next move? If a deal is to be brokered it will have to be prior to, and not after, the election. Golding is nobody's fool and he will insist on this. But after being publicly rebuffed by the JLP leader in the past, could he, in good faith, go back to that party?"

Critics say 'no'

The critics were unanimous in answering no. According to one pundit: "It is this Bruce Golding who turned his back on the corrupt political process of which he confessed he had been an active part. His conversion and reincarnation was hardly much less than that of Paul on the road to Damascus. How would he explain to the nation, let alone himself, his return to that which he has so strongly condemned? It is not as if the JLP has undergone a sea-change to look like the NDM that Bruce founded. Nor has the party changed its main positions on constitutional reform, a hallmark of Golding's revisionism."

Another political analyst added: "He should never have given up the leadership of the NDM when he did. He should have stayed the course and may have been rewarded in the end."

I also weighed in with a piece I did for The Sunday Gleaner. "Notwithstanding the merits of these arguments, I disagree wholeheartedly. For one, the NDM to all intents and purposes, is dead. There is no future there for Golding and he knows it. If he decides to go back to the JLP, there is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a simple explanation and I could write that speech for him in less than two minutes:

"My fellow Jamaicans, while I still have philosophical differences with issues that define the JLP and which over the course of time I will play my part in trying to change, it is the bes available to me right now in my quest toserve my country. I stand ready to serve and today I say let the change begin."

I added: "There is nothing wrong in having fundamental differences. As a matter of fact, I dare say it is healthy. If only Mr. Seaga would muster up the courage to take Golding back into the JLP, it could be the difference between winning and losing."

A few weeks later, and just prior to the general election, Golding rejoined the JLP. And in what was the closest election in 30 years, the JLP gave the PNP more than they had bargained for before losing out on a seat count of 34 seats to 26. Golding was credited for the JLP's strong performance and came out of the election in as strong a position as he had ever had in his entire political career.

The JLP would then go on to win the 2003 Local Government Election and Golding, following Seaga's, retirement, would later become JLP leader and Leader of the Opposition. He has also been credited for positioning the JLP as a credible government-in-waiting, uniting a party that has been characterised for much of the decade as a fractious bunch that could not be trusted with the power of governance.

But what an odyssey this has been for Golding! Who could have predicted that a man who seemingly had lost it all only a few years back is now but a heartbeat away from becoming Prime Minister of Jamaica?

Mrs. Golding said she was not surprised by the extent "some people will go" to criticise her husband, noting that the flip-flopper label being used by the PNP on the campaign trail "has not taken us by surprise, we have been expecting this."

Win or lose, it has been quite a journey for Golding. He more than any other political figure I can think of in our history, has seen all the highs and all the lows. Having been through all that he has been through, could this finally be his date with destiny? Only time will tell.