Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller was ill-advised from the start to freeze talks with the Government on matters of bilateral cooperation. The insult (real or perceived) by the Prime Minister of Mrs. Simpson Miller and her party did not, in our view, rise to the level to derail dialogue on issues of serious consequence to Jamaica. For while we support the need for civility in the political process, it is naive to expect, or even hope for, a totally sanitised and anodyne form of competitive democracy. Indeed, democracy is sometimes messy.

We are glad, therefore, that Mrs. Simpson Miller, even in the absence of the apology demanded from the Prime Minister, now says that the People's National Party (PNP) is ready to meet with the Government in the so-called Vale Royal talks. Indeed, as Mrs. Simpson Miller has concluded, we too feel that "much can be achieved through bipartisan collaboration".

Collaboration does not take place in a vacuum; it demands more than the leadership of the two main parties sitting together in the dining room of a charming old house on a colonial estate. Mr. Golding and Mrs. Simpson Miller, of course, are aware of this, being veterans of similar discussions when they were not yet the leaders of their respective parties - Mrs. Simpson Miller of the PNP and Mr. Golding of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

Some good things have emerged from these discussions, fine ideas and proposals. But they have not always been taken to the logical and declared conclusions. Which is why we hope that this time the summit will be approached differently, particularly in terms of preparation and the process for after the conclusion.

The recent general election, we believe, provided an opportunity for this new strategy. There are already some areas which the parties are agreed should be beyond narrow partisanship - education, health care, security, for instance. However, in these and other areas, the parties were forced to clarify their policy positions ahead of the election.

In this regard, we suggest that a working group sift through the manifestos of the JLP and PNP to determine the policies on which the positions are congruent or nearly so. These can then be earmarked for priority implementation.

This is not to suggest, however, that other and new issues should be off the agenda. Indeed, we expect that the Opposition, in its dual role as watchdog over the beha-viour of the administration and a Government, will be particularly vigilant in bringing issues to the table.

There are a few which we hope Mrs. Simpson Miller will aggressively champion. First, she must not let Mr. Golding off the hook with his attempt at dumping the Public Service Commission in order to circumvent its appointment of Prof. Stephen Vasciannie as the Solicitor General.

If it is not on the Government's agenda, Mrs. Simpson Miller must also place on the table the matter of a broad and formal social partnership agreement, forgetting the JLP's past reluctance, when in Opposition, to embrace such a pact. Such an arrangement would be good for Jamaica.

Critically, too, there must be a mechanism, of influence and teeth, for the tracking of the Vale Royal agreements and to push their implementation.

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