Golding (left) and Charles (right)WITH TALK in Jamaica Labour Party circles of a Bruce Golding/ Pearnel Charles contest to succeed Party Leader Edward Seaga in November, attention has turned to what the men have most in common a strong family connection, with Golding being married to Lorna Charles, Pearnel's sister. For some it's a dream match-up; for others, a nightmare.
"We've had situations like this in the politics before the cousins Alexander Bustamante and Norman Manley; the Spaulding brothers (Anthony, PNP, Winston, JLP) and the McNeill brothers (Ken, PNP, Roy, JLP) so I don't see the present situation with Golding and Charles creating any problem. They are two intelligent people and they both understand that there has to be room for differences," said Shalman Scott, Montego Bay-based political commentator.
Furthermore, Scott pointed out, unlike the other instances, Bruce Golding and Pearnel Charles are competing within the same party, a factor which he hopes will ensure that their actions do not unduly undermine party or family unity.
Troy Caine, well-known political historian, remembers well the most famous family rivalry in Jamaica's political history. Starting out as a team during the turbulence of the 1938 labour uprisings, Norman Manley and Alexander Bustamante were united in the founding of the People's National Party (PNP). This partnership was fated not to last, however, with Bustamante leaving to form the Jamaica Labour Party in July 1943.
"Where Manley and Busta were concerned the genesis of the split was when Busta went into detention and allowed Manley to run the union business and he came out with the impression that they were running it as PNP business. It became the genesis of the formation of the JLP," he said.
RIVALRY
Despite the acrimony of the split and the subsequent PNP/JLP rivalry however, Caine recalls that Norman Manley and Alexander Bustamante never forgot that they were cousins, which influenced their conduct.
Deputy General Secretary of the JLP, Don Creary, in an interview yesterday said: "Pearnel has made a good contribution to Jamaican politics but he is simply not a 21st century man his best days are behind. His best bet would be to play the role of an elder statesman in the party, making himself available to give advice to the younger members."
Mr. Creary noted that the talent in the JLP today is a lot richer than probably at anytime in the party's history, adding that Mr. Golding would make an excellent leader. "Mr. Golding is always open to discussion and is very accommodating even to dissenting views," he said.
One man who knows both prospective candidates well is Wentworth 'Rocky' Charles, Pearnel's younger brother who stood with his brother-in-law when Mr. Golding left the JLP in 1995 to form the National Democratic Movement (NDM).
Wentworth wants to hold firmly to a position of neutrality mixed with pride, even as he points out that neither of the two men has declared his candidacy as yet.
"But if both parties are nominated I would hope that they would deal with the issues before the country and although family members may have their preference, that alone cannot elevate either of them to the leadership without a wider appeal to Jamaica," he warned.
The ideal scenario, he said, would be one in which the two men pool their respective strengths to the ultimate benefit of the party and the country.
"The family might be inclined to see both parties complementing and supporting each rather than being divisive. You can have competition with peace and decorum. What we don't want is for that moment of family unity to be lost and for others looking on to wonder why two persons who had the opportunity to demonstrate how a united family could plant their ideas in a positive way lost the moment."
